What The Hell Happened To... 05.05.08: Chimaira - Chimaira Posted by Dan Marsicano on 05.05.2008
This week, Dan celebrates the 25th edition of What The Hell Happened To by looking at the third album from metal band Chimaira. This would be the last album with Roadrunner Records and the only record with drummer Kevin Talley. What made this album the heaviest and darkest album of the band's career?
The Introduction
It's a special edition of What The Hell Happened To, as the column celebrates its 25th edition (yeah, I'm as surprised as you are).
Looking back through the previous columns, it's amazing to see the musical grounds that have been covered. From rap to pop to metal to progressive metal to good old fashioned classic rock, it has been a great journey so far.
No point in stopping now, so let's begin, shall we?
This week, I'm turning up the metal as I take a look at Chimaira's third, and self-titled, album. The band had just parted ways with longtime drummer Andols Herrick and replaced him with death metal legend Kevin Talley (Dying Fetus, Decrepit Birth).
The band was also dealing with pressures from their record label and the fact that the chemistry between the band was deteriorating right before their very own eyes. In the DVD that was packaged alongside the band's next album, Resurrection, the band goes briefly into the problems in the band, including guitarist Rob Arnold saying that he almost quit the band because of what was going on.
Chimaira was a band that was hanging on by a thread and they were pissed off. So what does a metal band do when they are pissed off? They write a heavy-as-fuck album and that is what Chimaira did.
So, I'm going to take a closer look at the album that the record label didn't promote, the band almost broke up over, and the fans flocked to like vultures to a dead body.
The Band
Mark Hunter - Vocals
Matt DeVries - Guitar
Rob Arnold - Guitar
Jim LaMarca - Bass
Chris Spicuzza - Electronics, Keyboard, Backing Vocals
Kevin Talley-Drums
The Track Listing
1. Nothing Remains-5:36
2. Save Ourselves-5:08
3. Inside The Horror-5:29
4. Salvation-5:22
5. Comatose-4:44
6. Left for Dead-5:43
7. Everything You Love-6:17
8. Bloodlust-7:18
9. Pray for All-5:55
10. Lazarus-7:36
The History
Chimaira was formed in 1998 with vocalist Mark Hunter, lead guitarist Rob Arnold, rhythm guitarist Jason Hager, bassist Andrew Ermlick, and drummer Andols Herrick. The band would slowly build up a cult following, especially on college radio stations, and their 2000 EP This Present Darkness gained the attention of Roadrunner Records.
The band signed with Roadrunner and replaced Ermlick with Jim LaMarka and added Chris Spicuzza to the ranks for electronics/backing vocals. The band released their debut album, Pass Out of Existence, in 2001, with the album obtaining decent sales. Hager would leave the band after the release of the debut album and Matt DeVries came in to replace him.
The band toured for the next couple of years and began to write in late 2002 for their sophomore release. 2003's The Impossibility of Reason showed the band changing their sound a bit, adding more metal influences into their "nu-metal" sound. The album did well and the band began to tour behind it.
After the touring was done, drummer Andols Herrick left the band and Chimaira replaced him with Talley. The band entered the studio and finished up their self-titled album in 2005.
The Analysis
Chimaira is not an album that you can sit down and digest it all in one sitting. The album is heavy, repetitive at times, and pounds into your skull the whole time. There are hardly any clean vocals or melodic sections, not even in the longer tracks, save for an intro or two. The band decided to put it all out there and see what the metal community thought of their new sound.
It works though; for the most part, at least. The band sounds pissed as hell and doesn't let up. However, that doesn't mean I think the album is flawless. Some of the songs, especially on the second half of the album, go on for way too long and Hunter's vocals are monotonous near the end as well. I also have some qualms about Talley, but I'll get to all of these complaints later on in the column.
The album starts with "Nothing Remains," an instant classic for Chimaira. The song became a successful single and is still played live to this day. The song is a blast of solid metal, with a great solo and some pounding bass work from Talley. There are some clean vocals even used, one of the few songs that use them on the album.
The first half of the album is similar to the first track. So you got a lot of heavy metal, bordering on thrash metal at times, with some death metal influences sprinkled throughout (mostly in the drumming). The songs are all fast and furious, with very little in the way of melody or soft sections. The only clean singing is in the chorus of "Salvation" and even then, it's only a few words.
The second half of the album is the more "progressive" side of the band, if you want to call it that. The songs get longer, going from about five minutes to seven and a half and the songs get a bit heavier. This is where the band experiments with their sound just a bit. "Everything You Love" starts off with a brief clean electric guitar section and "Lazarus" brings back the clean vocals and more clean electric guitar to make it the most varied sounding track on the album.
Chimaira is an improvement over The Impossibility of Reason in many aspects. The band's core sound is heavier, the riffs are faster, and the solos are greatly improved. Rob Arnold shows the metal world that he can actually play a mean guitar solo and the ones on display on Chimaira are his best to date. Matt DeVries keeps up with Arnold and provides a solid backdrop for Arnold. Same goes to bassist Jim LaMarca, who puts in a decent performance, which is hampered by the production that drowns his bass work in the mix from time to time.
Earlier in the analysis portion, I mentioned three aspects of the album that I found faults with. With the exception of "Comatose," all of the songs are over five minutes long. For the most part, it isn't much of a problem. It's when the band gets to the seventh minute in a few of the tracks that the shortcomings come out in full force. "Bloodlust" is the guiltiest; the track is decent, but goes on for way too long on the same musical ideas and just plods along with no clear direction. "Pray For All" is a good track, but has a minute long outro that is pointless and doesn't add much to the track.
Hunter's vocals are good, but suffer from the problem most metalcore singers have; monotony and repetition. His growls are powerful and full of energy, but it's the same thing for ten tracks. Hunter adds in some death metal yells here and there for a little variety, which helps a bit. Thankfully, he improves his vocals on the next album.
There are two more members that I wanted to discuss briefly. Chris Spicuzza had a presence on the previous albums, but his work is pushed to the background for the majority of the album. It's a shame that he doesn't get a chance to shine, as he is a great player, especially when it comes to enhancing the mood ("Six" off of Resurrection is a good example). His vocals are good too, but on Chimaira, he only gets brief moments in the spotlight.
Kevin Talley was the newest member of the band, and as we later learned, he wasn't a good fit for the band. He lasted less than two years in the band and would be replaced by the returning Herrick. Talley's performance is phenomenal as he breathes new life into the band. The problem is that Talley is a death metal drummer. Chimaira isn't a death metal band. So the drumming felt a little out of place at times. This is most apparent in "Everything You Love." Talley pounds the shit out of the bass drums, but the band is playing a slower melody. It just sounds strange and out of place. Talley seemed to play fast for fast sakes at times. Some fans like Talley better than Herrick, and to them, I say more power to you. Personally, I think Herrick is a better fit for the band. That's not to say I think that Herrick is a better drummer than Talley; the two aren't even close. However, for what Chimaira plays, Herrick fits the band better.
Chimaira was an album that showcased both the high points and the low points of the band. Chimaira was going through a tough time as a band and it shows on the album. The band sounded furious and ready to fuck shit up, but they sacrificed their sense of melody and variety in the process. They would fit all the pieces together on Resurrection, which I think is their best album to date. Chimaira is a flawed work of art that would be the turning point for the band, as they left their record label, got their original drummer back, and finally found themselves as a band.
The Conclusion
I hope everybody enjoyed this week's edition. I know, it's a little shorter than usual, but I got finals coming up and I do have to crack open a book sometime soon.
Next week, I'm looking at a band that went through some hard times after their sophomore release and released one of the most underappreciated albums of 2006. I love this album, so it should be a good column next week. So come on back next week as I slowly head towards the big 50 (I know, I still have 25 columns left, but I'm a man who likes to look way, way ahead).
