Chimaira Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
There was a period of time during the early 21st century when it seemed like the only up-and-coming metal bands were ones that fit under the "nu metal" umbrella. But thanks to bands like Chimaira, headbangers looking for some brutal, straight-ahead metal could find some much-needed refuge. On the fifth album overall by this Cleveland-based six-piece, 2009's The Infection, the group has united once more with producer Ben Schigel (who has worked with the band on its last few albums), and the result is exactly what you'd expect from the band -- in other words, rubbery/detuned guitar riffs, properly placed vocal growls, relentless drumming, etc. Chimaira stick largely to the same sonic path that they've followed thus far but have focused their attack, especially on such selections as the album-opening "The Venom Inside," "Secrets of the Dead," and "Destroy and Dominate." Chimaira continue to scale the modern metal mountain, and they're reaching the upper region at a rapid and steady pace -- as evidenced by such releases as The Infection. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Has anyone noticed the exorbitantly large number of "angry" metal bands of the late '90s and early 21st century? Quite a few bands seem to be waking up on the wrong side of the bed nowadays more than ever before, and Chimaira appear to be a group of fed-up chaps, as heard throughout their dripping with angst 2007 release, Resurrection. As with their past albums, vocalist Mark Hunter is still a hardcore barker, while guitarist Rob Arnold remains a connoisseur of thrash metal riffery. It turns out that unlike their 2005 self-titled effort, Resurrection (which is the group's first album to not be released via Roadrunner, their new home is Ferret Music) is a full band effort as far as the songwriting went. As a result, the album sounds like a big shiny metal machine firing on all cylinders, especially on such aggro-fests as the album-opening title track, "Pleasure in Pain," and "End It All." Resurrection does not suffer from false advertising as far as the album title goes -- it truly sounds like the Chimaira chaps are reinvigorated and reborn. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Metalcore is full of bands that have mastered the art of being savagely ferocious. Actually, savage ferocity is a primary ingredient if a band is going to provide true metalcore. It goes with the territory. But one thing that fewer metalcore bands have mastered is the art of being truly hooky. Hatebreed and Throwdown (two of metalcore's best bands) have mastered it; they have mastered the art of hookiness and infectiousness as effectively as they have mastered the art of dense, skullcrushing brutality. And that healthy combination of savagery and hookiness is also alive and well on this self-titled effort, which is Chimaira's third album and comes seven years after the band's formation. The Cleveland-based outfit takes no prisoners on this 2005 release; they kick, punch, pummel, and delight in taking listeners to the land of 1,000 bruises. But again, having a take-no-prisoners outlook doesn't separate them from the glut of metalcore combos that surfaced in the late '90s and early to mid-2000s -- what makes "Comatose," "Bloodlust," and other tracks a cut above most of 2005's metalcore recordings is how well Chimaira unite their slash-and-burn aesthetic with a desire to provide material that is just plain catchy. Chimaira's hooks -- like Hatebreed's and Throwdown's hooks -- have a way of staying with you, and their songs are simply better constructed than many of their competitors' songs. It should be noted that The Impossibility of Reason is Chimaira's first album since the departure of drummer Andols Herrick; this time, the drummer is Kevin Talley of Dying Fetus fame (or infamy), and he proves to be a welcome addition to the band on this sledgehammer of a CD. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
'The Impossibility of Reason'
Release Date 5/13/2003
Tracks 12
Label Roadrunner
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Impossibility of Reason is the debut Roadrunner full-length for Chimaira, a Cleveland sextet that likes to think of itself as advance scouts of the NWOAHM, or New Wave of American Heavy Metal, a metal movement to rival the British heavy metal onslaught that conquered the world in the 1980s. And while almost two decades of metal music have made a fully original sound almost impossible, Chimaira comes out of the gate with enough key of C attitude to turn heads and get them banging. Metalcore is the name of the game here, as vocalist Mark Hunter channels the anguish and anger of hardcore's solitary vocalists over the two-headed muted riffing of guitarists Matt DeVries and Rob Arnold and Andols Herrick's stuttering, impossibly fast double bass clapping. While the presence of electronics and programming man Chris Spicuzza nods to modernity, contrived rock rapping and the pomposity of nu-metal have been mercifully removed from the equation. In this sense, Chimaira really is carrying forth with a revolution of sorts. Plus, they've grown long hair and mustaches, which is more genuine even than a set of Venom cover songs. At its best moments (the extended outro to "Eyes of a Criminal," the self-explanatory screed "Pure Hatred"), Impossibility recalls the furious intensity of Slayer. And when the band twists itself into a particularly adept hardcore hit squad for workouts like "Overlooked," it can really get the hair flying. "Cleansation," too, is a brain-warping excursion into classic-minded thrash, complete with right-angle stops and starts. If there's a fault with all of this sword-swallowing sonic fury, it's that Chimaira seems to only have one gear. The Impossibility of Reason starts to sound uninspired whenever it lingers on Alice in Chains-style vocal histrionics and (slightly) less hard guitars. But even this slight misstep is better than the vacuous posturing of countless other metal also-rans that have clogged the loud rock ranks in the last few years. The 16-plus minute epic that Chimaira closes The Impossibility of Reason with is just a little too ambitious. But the fact that it's on the album at all rings with genius in the halls of metal's fathers. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'Pass Out of Existence'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 14
Label Roadrunner
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The perfect band for Roadrunner Records, Chimaira takes nu-metal syncopation and ideology, balances it with hints of death metal's angst-overdose (vocalist Mark Hunter has a distinctively brutal screech), and punctuates it with a more-than-expected electronic influx to create a fairly unique sound. The experimentation doesn't take away from the heaviness or accessibility, however, as the Cleveland group takes Fear Factory's noise to another level of intensity. ~ Brian O'Neill, All Music Guide
