“Love them.The Great Cold DistanceandNight is the New Dayare both on my top ten albums. Dark as hell, perfect production, and amazing riffs.”
“Oh, no,” Aksel mumbled. “Don’t open that door.”
“My favorite wasBrave Murder DayuntilNight is the New Daycame out,” Xander said, ignoring the guitarist’s remark. Katatonia was by far his favorite band. “They just have such a consistent, distinct sound.”
“Right?” Noah’s grin widened.
Aksel cleared his throat. “Can we leave the nerdy talk for later?”
“Yes, sorry.” Xander chuckled, making Kaj’s skin crawl.
This wasn’t good. The bassist never got carried away like this. Not with someone he’d known for two seconds.
Aksel shook his head, a soft smile stretching his mouth. “Anyway, as I was saying, each of us chose a song—we shift them around every so often. You should add yours, too.”
“Is there anything in particular you won’t play or that you don’t like?” Noah asked.
“Hmm…” Xander touched his perfectly groomed beard as he looked up at the ceiling. “Not that comes to mind.”
“Would Meshuggah be okay?”
Aksel nodded. “Just send me the song and I’ll make the arrangements with our personal touch.”
“Great.”
“Let’s get to it then!”
Sliding the strap of his bass over his shoulder and plugging it, Xander strummed its strings, getting an answer from Aksel’s guitar as he slightly turned the pegs to tune it. Meanwhile, Noah tested the microphone. All of this happening under the intensity of Kaj’s frown. He hated that everything was flowing so well with a newcomer.
Kaj put in his earplugs and twirled the sticks on his fingers.
Despite the earlier bravado, he wasn’t sure for how long he’d be able to put up with this shit. Hostility was a default setting for him in the face of the unknown. Keeping a safe distance was the only way he felt safe and could control how much of himself he gave. That was one of the reasons he and Mads never worked. Why he couldn’t commit. Why most people thought he was unreachable. Why he hadn’t allowed Noah to get too close when they reunited years ago. But now they both were here, locked in the same room, sharing an old dream. It was already draining him.
The first chords of “Until the World Goes Cold” blasted through Aksel’s amp, snapping him back. Kaj then kicked the bass drum three times. Twelve seconds later, the strings of the bass vibrated, solidifying the melody as they built a whole different atmosphere.
Every note resonated through Kaj like a pulse. And suddenly, all the pressure in his chest disappeared as the turmoil of emotions transformed into smoke. Nothing could disrupt his peace.
Except one thing.
When Noah began to sing, the hairs on Kaj’s nape stood up. He’d heard him sing so many times while he was at the drums, he didn’t think playing together again would twist his stomach like this. It felt like a razor sliding down his throat. The punishment for his sins before being redeemed. He deserved it.
As they neared the chorus, Aksel backed Noah’s vocals, distracting him enough to make him lose the momentum.
“Seriously?” Kaj abruptly stopped playing.
“What?” Aksel asked, confused.
“His voice is offbeat.”
“Sorry.” That’s all Noah said as a soft shade of pink colored his cheeks.
“He just sang one line, and it threw you off like that?” Kaj tossed with calm disdain, pointing at Aksel with a drumstick while keeping his eyes on the vocalist.
“Dude,” Xander warned.
“You’re more of an amateur than we thought if this is the best you can do,” Kaj continued.
Noah glared at the drummer, but that only urged him on.
