"Throttling beats, throat-ripping vocals make Vanquish CD great" - "If you happened to catch this quintet from the Clark Lake area last summer in the finals of the Jackson County Fair's talent competition, you know these boys put on quite a show. "Secrets of the Cold" proves Vanquish is much more than its hair-flinging stage persona. This is pure, high-octane, crank-it-up-and-hold-on ROCK, a throwback of the heyday of the arena rock monsters, only with a modern, edgy hook that reaches out and shakes your brain. There's really no secret to this "Secret," either. Crunching guitars. Throttling beats. Derick Backiel's throat-ripping vocals. From the blistering razzle-dazzle of Tony Colley's crackling guitar riffs that open "Brave" to a virtual musical collision of Colley's guitar and Backiel's pulse-pounding drum beat on "Angel," the band continuously pushes the intensity button. Though the pace slows a bit in the early going of "Rainbow Park" - undoubtedly one of the best cuts on the CD - it quickly kicks into overdrive in another guitar-driven frenzy fueled by lead guitar Keith Monske and bassist Ray Smetana. Likewise, "The Fall" opens with an almost cryptic musical passage soon obliterated by a wicked guitar bridge that mirrors the anger of a song about a man "scorned by the black hand of this time." Threading it all together is Backiel, a man of many talents who also wrote all the songs on the CD. Backiel's intense, borderline angry vocals are a perfect mate for this music that crackles with hard-driven energy."

"In today's onslaught of rapcore bands, very few musicians look to the more traditional hard rock formula for success. Vanquish however, is one of these bands. Secrets of the Cold is full-on rock with screeching guitars, heavy percussion and high power, reminiscent of early Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. Secrets of the Cold continues its sonic assault on hard rock lovers throughout Michigan. While Secrets of the Cold is hard hitting from the opening track "Rainbow Park," the CD is also complimented with a very moody vibe that longs for the days when rock was more than just young men jumping around and making a bunch of noise." Best Listening Experience: "Surrender" and "The Fall"