Songfacts®:

• This rocker was supposed to deliver Kix their breakout hit after a decade of grind in and around Maryland but it didn't. They had released three albums on Atlantic Records without a hit; "Cold Blood" was the lead single from their fourth, Blow My Fuse, in 1988. Hair metal was peaking, so the stage was set - Kix contemporaries like Winger, Warrant and Poison were all over the charts. But despite a video and a push from Atlantic, the song stiffed.
  
  This looked like the end of the road for Kix until Atlantic deigned to release the ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes" as a single. It did the trick, rising to #11 in the US and helping the album go Platinum. Unfortunately, by the time they got around to releasing their next album in 1991, hair metal had abated, surpassed by grunge. Kix never landed another hit.
• Kix had a powerhouse lead singer in Steve Whiteman, who delivered the lascivious lyrics to this song with plenty of conviction. The song is about a nut he just can't crack, and it's driving him crazy. Rick James has a similar sentiment in his 1983 song "Cold Blooded."
• Kix had an unusual songwriting arrangement, with bass player Donnie Purnell composing most of the songs with various outside writers. He wrote "Cold Blood" with Taylor Rhodes, who also co-wrote "Cryin'" by Aerosmith.