Chimaira

It's never been abundantly clear what made Chimaira choose their band name. The original concept (often spelled as chimaera or kimaera) was a hybrid of lion, goat, and dragon, though I don't know what the Americans thought they were combining, certainly not when they arrived with the underdeveloped modern metal-with-too-many-electronics of their debut album. For me, they didn't morph into another creature nearly often enough and I certainly don't remember glimpsing the dragon tail on many songs. Let's just assume they thought it sounded cool. In any case, this self-titled release was their third album, one that found them positioned rather surprisingly near the vanguard of the NWOAHM alongside the emerging Lamb of God and Devildriver, as well as the more established Shadows Fall. Not to be confused with metalcore bands such as Killswitch Engage and As I Lay Dying, Chimaira sounded purer from the release of The Impossibility of Reason onwards and perhaps their purest on this album.

The songs here are cut from the many cloths of thrash metal, melodeath, pure death, groove metal, and metalcore, which is present in the occasional breakdowns and Kevin Talley's drumming style, which - despite his death metal pedigree - is not as interesting as Andols Herrick's, who he replaced for this album. Those multiple influences mean that riffs form the basis of several songs, sometimes in overtly 'core fashion (the latter half of 'Save Ourselves') or purer styles (there are some diverting riffs in 'Bloodlust'), while Chimaira also marked the first time that Rob Arnold's role as a lead guitarist could be taken seriously. His melodic soloing and melodies stamp tracks such as 'Pray for All' with a markedly different flavour to any of the bands mentioned in the first paragraph, particularly as those elements are used to shape the song instead of merely to supplement the percussive riffing assault, something that would arrive at its logical conclusion on 'Six', the lengthy guitar workout from the following album Resurrection. In fact, the range of moods that Arnold conjures with his guitar and the varied opportunities that he seizes remind more of Nevermore and Jeff Loomis than any band traditionally associated with Chimaira.

Despite the interest of the lead guitar and the mildly eerie diversions provided by Chris Spicuzza's lurking electronics, Chimaira runs into a few obvious problems. The first of these is the markedly lengthened running time of the average song on the album (six minutes apiece as opposed to a general target of four), which came as a result of the band deciding to disregard any commercial aspects of the release and write the songs that they wanted to. For some of the more creative pieces this works well, not least when the song contains several sections that alter in atmosphere and focus, but dragging out fairly typical metalcore numbers like 'Salvation' and 'Left for Dead' beyond five minutes was a brave move, leaving the album bereft of "impact songs" that would rapidly do their damage and then fuck off again. Though not a smart album by all accounts, Resurrection at least had plenty of shorter songs that contained absolutely zero fat - something that Chimaira most probably learned as a result of this album.

The other problem for the Ohio six-piece is a perennial one, namely that Chimaira never did anything that special in terms of new ideas and challenging playing. There are thus a great number of crunching stop-start riffs with tricky time signatures and nearly as many bruising groovy movers throughout the songs, though it is disappointingly rare for the band to break into something unexpected as they sometimes did towards the end of their (now resurrected!) career. To illustrate: when Spicuzza really gets the atmosphere bubbling during 'Inside the Horror', the other bandmembers are dicking around with the same old riffs, then 'Comatose' pulls through on the guitar front but doesn't end up being as vocally memorable as it should be, while 'Save Ourselves' and 'Salvation' sort of get lost in the midst of everything due to their propensity for being neither here nor there. It would have been a great help for the album if someone (other than Arnold, whose contribution is the most satisfying) could have taken charge of certain songs or parts of songs: Talley could have ambushed some fills in the slower numbers, Matt DeVries could have let it rip on a few more fast riffs, Mark Hunter might have been able to add some hookier vocal sections, even if he isn't exactly bad; finally, the producer could have given Jim LaMarca more of a chance to influence proceedings, his bass hidden in the tumult of downtuned guitars and stuttering rhythms.

What seems particularly a shame about Chimaira is that the band didn't fully allow themselves to open their songwriting style to all the elements that they could have included, so despite the more capacious structures and generous lead playing, not everything satisfies on the album. One issue is its length, from which one or two songs could safely have been expelled or shortened, though the other is made manifest by the comparative novelty of 'Pray for All' and 'Lazarus'. These two songs are most stimulating for the listener, including the album's greatest chorus and a poignant melodic outro on the former, while the latter tells a story with more than just Hunter's focal voice, the dynamics of the song proving equally diverting. One can understand why the band structured the album as they did: put the conventional songs up first to placate the fans and then fuck with the formula later on when no one will be disappointed. Unfortunately, that means that for me Chimaira doesn't go far enough, sticking too rigidly to a limited idea before making me reflect on what could have been when most of the album has already passed. Should have made it count when you could, eh boys?

Further explanations were given on my review for the band's first album Pass Out of Existence, as previously mentioned.

This is indeed a masterpiece of 2000s metal. Well, I reckon that we're talking about an age in the history of metal (the so-called New Wave of American Heavy Metal) that is not generally approved by most extreme music enthusiasts. However, this truly is one of its greatest triumphs. Chimaira's third album, now self-titled, like their previous effort The Impossibility of Reason, is the evolution of the sound that they've been working on since their beginning, and it can be arguably descibed as the peak of their artistic career. Do not be fooled by this band's (undeserved) reputation of melodic metalcore - the sound of this album has more in common with thrash bands such as Slayer and Kreator than All That Remains and Killswitch Engage. Of course the band still continues in their dark groove-thrash style, but now with less "groove" and more "thrash".

The aspect that is more audible at first is the apparent lack of electronics. For someone who listened to them since Pass Out of Existence, it's a surprise that electronics only appear here and there - and when they do, their role is minimal. After all, the band must get rid of any unnecessary elements if they want to fly. And the first thing that makes you think that they took off is the drumming. Sure, here Andols Herrick has been replaced (temporarily) by Kevin Talley (ex-Dying Fetus), but that makes an impressive difference, right at the beginning of the album opener "Nothing Remains", with his brutal blasts and groove. Impressive. But that's not all, Talley still manages to surprise the listener with "Save Ourselves" and the opening solo of "Pray for All". But the other great thing to come from their two previous albums - the guitars - is also excellent, even if greatly overshadowed by the drumming.

Arnold's and DeVries's playing blends skullcrushing thrash with disturbing darkness better than ever, while at the same time also bringing some deep melodies (such as in "Nothing Remains" and the chorus of "Inside the Horror"). In some way we can see here a bigger influence of old-school thrash metal due to the further emphasis in slow, complex song development (for example the terrific track "Bloodlust"). It's just the perfect icing over the drumming.

However, we haven't yet hit one of the crucial points of this album - the vocals. As those who heard Pass Out of Existence probably know, Mark Hunter didn't start as a great vocalist. Yet, the first seconds of "Nothing Remains" make us think "whoa, is this the same dude that was singing in their first album?". Hunter's voice evolved a lot, even when compared with The Impossibility of Reason. He yells harder, and when he screams (such as in "Comatose") he sounds much harsher. Lyrically the album surrounds themes such as suicide, hatred and paranoia, continuing with the band's tradition on that matter and further completing one aggressive masterpiece.

As I pointed out earlier, the New Wave of American Heavy Metal is a period in history of extreme music that tends to separate opinions - some say that it (further) ruined the image of metal, while others will claim that it brought the genre back with a vengeance. However, have no doubt that this is one of its masterpieces. A ruthless, somber, brutal groove thrash album in tradition of Overkill and Kreator that will be remembered as one of the best metal albums that the 2000s gave us, and Chimaira's ultimate tour-de-force in musical terms.

Well, how to begin this review? The best way is to say this: when I first popped this disc into my computer's CD player, and the opening riff of "Nothing Remains" thundered out of my headphones, I knew this was going to be a good album. And a groove metal album. I could just tell the difference between this album and The Impossibility of Reason straight away. While that album's opener, "Cleansation" started, I thought it was ok, but nothing great. Why? Because IMO, "Cleansation" still sounded like a metalcore song. It did not sound like a groove metal song. And like it or not, groove metal and metalcore are two different things.

I mean, could anyone honestly call Pantera's song: "Mouth for War" or "Walk" metalcore songs? Conversely, could anyone call any song by, say, Hatebreed or Killswitch Engage a groove metal song? No. Because groove metal and metalcore are different. The biggest difference being that groove metal is still actual proper metal, another reason why it is called "post-thrash" - while metalcore is more like hardcore mixed with metal influences. Not so good.

The main problem with The Impossibility of Reason was that, for all its improvements over their not so good first album Pass out of Existence, which like it or not was a nu-metal or mallcore album, it was still not great. To me, it felt like metalcore, not like groove metal. Granted, there are some more groove styled songs on that album, like the title track and "Pictures in the Gold Room", but this only seemed to work when they were playing slower. When they were playing fast on that album, they sounded like a metalcore band, not like a post-thrash/groove metal band. Just listen to "Cleansation" again and you'll see that this is true. Also, the lyrics for that album were extremely metalcoreish, which is not a good thing. They didn't sound that whiny, but they were often repetitive and not that complex.

The self titled album, on the other hand, is completely different. In a good way. It is darker, more disturbing, more interesting, better structured, more complex, and everything. It is also more metallic, in every way. There are actual proper guitar solos here, in virtually every song - something that was hardly there at all on the first two albums. Granted, there was some soloing on some songs on The Impossibility of Reason, but in comparison, the solos on that album are far less complex and much more generic. Here, on the other hand, there are complex and good solos in nearly every song - which also contributes to making this album a far more proper metal album than the previous two. Basically, the metalcore influences are left only in some of the lyrical themes and the vocal style, while the groove metal influences are pushed to the forefront - making this a proper metal album. Not core, metal. This is groove metal, and it has to be one of the best done, heaviest, most brutal, most interesting, and best structured modern groove metal albums ever.

How is this so? Well, basically, it's like this: listen to the first song of The Impossibility of Reason, Cleansation, and then listen to the first song of the self titled album, this one, which is Nothing Remains. While "Cleansation" sounds like metalcore, "Nothing Remains" sounds like aggressively played, complex, and brutal post-thrash, or aggressive groove metal. Most simply, while on The Impossibility of Reason, Chimaira's attempts to be brutal, heavy, and uncompromising seemed contrived because the music still sounded like hardcore guys trying to play tough, brutal metal and in most regards failing, on their self titled, they don't just attempt to be brutal, heavy, and uncompromising - they succeed. They sound like metal, with only a hint of core. While "Cleansation" sounded like angry metalcore, "Nothing Remains" sounds like brutal post-thrash/groove metal. Barely even remotely coreish.

The proof of this is that I couldn't get into The Impossibility of Reason at all for ages - when I first heard Cleansation, it simply didn't hook me in. It was repetitive, sounded too much like metalcore and not enough like groove metal, and simply not metallic sounding enough. Sure, it was heavy, but it was too metalcore-like. I never got past the first song, it just simply didn't hold my attention.

Be contrast, when I first listened to Nothing Remains, it hooked me instantly. It was so different in such a good way, it was hard to believe. This was real metal, this was aggressive post-thrash groove metal! The riffs are heavy, headbangable, and brutal, the solos are well done and complex, and the music is just far better. It kept my attention, up through the brilliant "Save Ourselves", and the slower but still excellent "Inside the Horror". I didn't lose even a bit of interest until the overly melodic slow down track that is "Salvation" - and even this track is better than, say, "Down Again" from The Impossibility of Reason.

In fact, most of the songs on this album are good. Actually, almost all of them are either good, great, or fantastic, with just two songs being slightly less good.

The fantastic songs are "Save Ourselves" "Everything you Love" and "Pray for All". The great songs are "Nothing Remains" "Inside the Horror" and "Left for Dead". The good songs are "Comatose" and "Bloodlust". Which leaves only two less good songs, those being "Salvation" and "Lazarus".

So, onto the songs themselves.

Nothing Remains is a great album opener. It has brutal riffs throughout, an excellent solo in the middle, and is tons better than anything from their previous albums. The only reason why I rate it as only "great" while rating the following song, Save Ourselves, as "excellent", is simply because I feel Save Ourselves has an even darker mood, even more aggressive riffs, an equally good if not better solo, and is just better overall.

So, onto that song. Save Ourselves is fantastic, one of the best songs on the entire album. It's incredibly aggressive, and this time, the aggression does not sound like metalcore - it sounds like brutal post-thrash/groove metal. It is extremely metallic, the mood is dark and brutal, and the lyrics are excellent.

Next up is Inside the Horror. It's much slower, but there's nothing wrong with that as both of the first two songs were fast and aggressive, so having a slower song adds more variety - in addition, the slow pace is very groove metal, in fact it sounds a lot like one of Pantera's slower songs, like "Walk", for instance, although with more extreme vocals, a darker mood, and more disturbing lyrics. The lyrics of songs like this are a far cry from the depression/hate myself/hate everything metalcore style lyrics from The Impossibility of Reason, which is a good thing.

Then there's Salvation. One of the weaker songs on the album, it's still good in its own way. After a melodic solo opens the song, there is a heavy riff at about 40 to 50 seconds into the song, and although the riffing doesn't actually stop, it is so slow and the solos so high in the mix that the song sounds incredibly slow and a bit too melodic, and not aggressive or brutal enough for my tastes. Still ok though.

Next is Comatose. This is extremely aggressive, which makes it totally different from Inside the Horror and Salvation in tempo - which is great, as it adds more variety to the album and keeps things interesting. Overall a good song. Not very much a stand out song, but a good one.

Then we have Left for Dead, one of the best songs. It has a melodic solo opening, and then the riffs start, and then a really crushing and headbangable riff starts along with the vocals, which is great. This song is generally mid-paced, which is still keeping things interesting.

Then we come to one of the crowning jewels of this album, the brilliant "Everything you Love". This is one of the slowest songs on the album, but in this case that's a good thing, not a bad thing - especially in light of the fact that the previous two songs were generally quite fast. It's such a groove metal song, so slow, heavy, and crushing throughout. It starts with an eerie keyboard intro, and then a really menacing riff starts at about 30 seconds into the song, a solo starts shortly later, and then at about a minute into the song, a new, crushing riff starts, a true groove riff, which is excellent. Then the vocals start. It continues at this slow to mid-paced tempo for the entire rest of the song, but there are a couple of changes and breakdowns throughout - here, however, unlike in the crap mallcore songs from Pass out of Existence, the whispered/spoken vocals in the middle of the song actually work and are not metalcoreish at all! "You should be.......you should be.......you should be........" and then back to a scream "PARANOID!" and there is another crushing riff that is incredibly heavy and brutal and makes you want to headbang until your head explodes. And then a good solo, before the song goes back to the main chorus part. Brilliant.

Next up is Bloodlust, which is a good song overall, but less good than Everything you Love - why? Quite simply, it's too similar in tempo and structure. Like Everything you Love, it's slow and long. And this is fine, especially for groove metal. It's just that since both songs are slow and long, Bloodlust doesn't have much to offer that hasn't already been heard on Everything you Love. Even so, it's still a good song.

Now we come to Pray for All, which is one of the best songs of the entire album. It's totally different in tempo from the previous two songs - tons faster - which is a good thing, as it adds more variety. This song is really aggressive, brutal, and still skull-crushingly heavy. The mood is venomous, angry, and vicious throughout, with the lyrics about making someone pay, taking revenge, that kind of thing. The only weird thing here is the outro, but this is ok because it sort of leads into the next song.

This brings us to the final song, Lazarus. While not a bad song by any means, it has two bad elements that make it not a very good album closer, IMO. The first is the break in the middle of the song in which there is just a melodic solo, and no riffs at all - something they didn't do on any other song on the album. This isn't too bad, especially since the song goes back to it's heavy main riff later, but this song's outro is what really is disappointing. The end of the song is over a minute of keyboards which are very quiet and kind of melancholy, and then the songs just fades out. Not exactly the best way to end one of the most crushing and brutal modern groove metal albums ever, really. It just kind of spoils the mood. Instead of ending with a brutal, heavy, skullcrushing riff, it ends with gentle keyboards. Even so, it's not actually bad - none of the songs on this album are.

So, in conclusion, a great modern groove metal album. Heavy, crushing, brutal, dark, long, and very well structured. Easily Chimaira's best album.

Chimaira and epic? Do these two words honestly fit together? Not as well as we all hoped they would have fit together. Nonetheless it is nice to hear an ever evolving sound from a band that hasn’t quite lived up to their potential. Chimaira have had a lot of talent tucked up those proverbial sleeves – and this self-titled 3rd album is showing some of that leech out of our speakers.

The band has been under heavy fire being called everything from nu metal to mallcore to metalcore – when I think a lot of people are sloughing them off before they have their chance to really strut their stuff. Chimaira have a good influx of thrash and death metal influences that are now taking a step forward on this album. The internet rumors that this album is the “next black album” are NOT true…despite the choice for the cover being all black.

Chimaira really pull out their guitar work on this album. Chimaira is full of thrash riffing overlaid with killer leads and shredding solos. Definitely the most impressive aspect of this album is the new and more complex guitar writing and playing. Both the guitarists show their quick fret work and heavy rhythms. The melodies presented on songs like “Lazarus” and “Salvation” really give the album some good variation that and a new level that Chimaira have always hinted at but never really achieved.

The bass work is also become somewhat monumental this time around. The bass breaks away only a few times but it does properly keep the guitars on the same path. The bass work was a little most diverse prior to this release but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been deterred any. I think that the increased guitar work just has outshined the bass work.

The drumming is a big problem for me. For all the thrash influence that has been shown on this album – the drums have a definite death metal feel to them. Most likely this is due to the loss of Andols Herrick and his replacement Kevin Talley. Kevin’s bread and butter is death metal drumming and even though the drumming is well done – it doesn’t quite fit with the music’s direction. A little too much focus has been put into the bass drums rather than the complexity to match the rest of the instruments.

Vocally, Mark Hunter has really tried to expand his vocal capabilities. He tired to keep some diversity on the album and does a pretty good job. So now along with his post thrash barking vocal style we begin to hear some death metal guttural and some baritone singing (very little of the latter). The greater use Chris Spicuzza’s backing vocals (most impressively his singing voice which is remarkable good) is a good counter point to Mark’s usually harsh style of singing. When the two of them overlap it’s quite impressively epic sounding.

The epic nature of this album is it’s blessing and it’s curse. Although by having a goal to create a massively epic album the band has really pushed its own boundaries and found some new levels of creativity with an outlet for their once stifled talent. Unfortunately, by doing this the epic nature of album feels very forced and unnatural for the band. Parts of the album are positively amazing but a lot of the transitions and time changes feel a bit awkward and cliché. With some amazing lyrical writing about suicide, death, and hate there are some very awesome sing along moments with the choruses.

Chimaira are just a few steps away from being one of the best newer bands in the scene and with the direction of thrash and death that they are going they are going to be garnering a lot of new fans. This is an amazing step for the band even if the album has some serious flaws.

Songs to check out: Nothing Remains, Save Ourselves, Lazarus.

This self-titled third album is quite a strong effort and is the album that got me listening to the band even though I had heard them a couple of times before. When I first picked up this album it was quite a difficult listen, as some of the songs can have the habit of running into each other if you are listening to the album from start to finish. This mostly occurs in the middle section of the album. Those new to Chimaira may find that they experience the same thing when approaching this album, however multiple listens will start to allow this album to reveal itself properly to your ears.

One of the problems with this album is there isn't really a diverse enough amount of ideas, which can sometimes cause the listener to question "hang on, I thought I was still on this track..." or "haven't I heard this before?" This is probably because some of the riffs are not unique enough throughout this album, and Mark Hunter's growling vocals can become a bit monotonous. However, if you are adjusted to the vocals and willing to give this album enough patience, it will start to shine.

Album opener "Nothing Remains" is the best offering on this album. It is kept interesting by the unpredictable melodic solo section in the middle of the song, and has some ferocious riffage, especially as the song starts to close. The chorus is one of the most memorable on the whole album. The rest of the album is followed by lots of good tracks in their own right, but nothing quite as good as the album opener. I would recommend to listeners checking out this album, that if "Nothing Remains" doesn't interest you in the slightest, then nor will any of the other tracks here. For those who love the opening track, the rest of the album will be worth your attention.

One of the best tracks from the middle part of the album is "Salvation" with some quite melodic guitar work. Another decent track is "Everything You Love". Although i preferred their previous drummer Andols Herrick, the new drummer is still very good and shines on this track with his interesting drumwork. "Bloodlust" starts off sounding like quite a departure from the rest of the album, with a slow opening riff that sounds NWOBHM influenced, this track soon builds into a good song.

As "Pray for All" builds down with its interesting guitar and drumwork, the way is pathed for the album closer "Lazarus". This track is one of the most unique sounding tracks on the album, being over 7 minutes long and can be seen as quite epic (for Chimaira anyway). This is definitely an interesting listen, even if it does struggle in places. Once you get out of the way of the annoying "turkey gobbling" sounds there is some strong riffage and a good vocal performance to be found. For some this track may seem overlong, but it has also become a fan favourite, and is mighty enough to rival this albums excellent opening track, which is something none of tracks 2-9 really have the strength or originality to do.

Overall "Chimaira" is a strong effort that may demand multiple listens to really unfold itself to you, perhaps it may not be as interesting as the previous album "The Impossibility of Reason", but it is definitely not going to dissapoint fans of the band, even with the departure of Andols on drums. There aren't too many radical new ideas from the band, but they have still managed to release an solid album, with only a few initial problems to be found in it on the first few listens.

To be blunt, I hated this album the first time I heard it. Granted, I listened to a couple minutes of the first track, that being "Nothing Remains," and, well, it seemed to be a little slow and overall, boring. The only redeeming point was the drums, the riffs had no energy about them and seemed completely lifeless.

The guitar tone through the whole album sounds very, very flat and one-dimensional, which I'm not particularly fond of, but I'm able to let that slide.

I listened on through the entire album and what I stumbled upon was quite the surprise indeed. Chimaira have definitely matured and found a little niche to call their own; I absolutely refuse to call this metalcore. I don't know what the fuck it is exactly, but it is without a doubt metal.

There's quite a few riffs in here that really shine through it all, and for lack of a better term, slay. For example, the main riff (at the 0:39 mark and onwards) in "Save Ourselves," a very thrashy and headbang-worthy riff.

But riffs like that aren't the only surprise- the solos. God, the solos. Without a doubt the solos are the most impressive new addition to Chimaira on this CD. There's even a solo in every song, and no hardcore breakdowns!

The other brilliant addition is the drumming. Chimaira's new skin-pounder knows how to work his set quite well, and thanks to the mix doesn't drown out everything but the vocals.

Unfortunately, the bass doesn't seem to contribute anything at all to this album, and if there is an excellent bass line in here, we'd never know, what with it being barely-audible and all...

Overall, it's not a bad album, but it can manage to get a bit repetitive, even at the best of times, and there's little replay value for the entire album, excluding the standout tracks. If it weren't for the repetitveness of it all, and the overly-flat tone of the guitars, it would've gotten a higher score from me.

Standout tracks:
Save Ourselves
Salvation
Pray For All

I was a little reluctant to pick this album up because I figured it would sound like all the other two albums Chimaira had put out; which was a somewhat weak line-up. Pass Out of Existence being absolute...well crap and The Impossibility of Reason being a huge step up into the right direction.

And along comes Chimaira...

I knew I was going to get this album but I had been putting it off, in turn spending my money on Immortal, Mayhem, etc. However once I heard some samples off the album my mind was left in total shock. The first thing I got a taste of was the first track "Nothing Remains". And let me tell you when those drums kick in you can tell Chimaira has a new sound, a new attitude, and a totally new form of destruction within their hands.

Kevin Talley's drumming is a huge part to why I love this album. Sure there are still some of the standard Chimaira riffs, drums, etc but you can tell there is a totally new style in the works. Adding in his death/black blasts gives this album something that Chimaira were never able to have with Andols Herrick. And I thought I would never say this but good riddance Andols!

Of course the album doesn't stop just there. I don't know if this had anything to do with Kevin Talley but one of the things you will notice on the new album is the assault of solos. Every song...yes...every song has at least one solo, some with two. On their last disk you were lucky if they did two solos.

On top of that there is a wonderful lack of sampling. I don't mean for them to put their guy out of a job but the lack of sampling has made this album much easier to listen to and has given it some true metal credibility.

You can here some of the standard influences in their music. A few examples: The end of Pray for All has some drumming somewhat remincesent to Metallicas "The Struggle Within" and some of the riffing reminds me very much of In Flames and even some of the solos you can hear a "Dimebag" Darrell influence.

Overall this is a huge step up from their last disk and is something that is well worth picking up.