Chimaira
Resurrection
Ferret
Where once there was metal-core, there sprung a well of black metal, from there hefty experimentation in progressive metal and hardcore took root. The result is a new era of Chimaira.
Angry metal sprouts a new pair of wings on the back of Mark Hunter. Chimaira’s intense frontman has got a stare as intimidating as his growl, and when the vocals on the band’s fourth release Resurrection are out of the depths of this imposing frontman, the band becomes something more than the genre busters they previously were.
Opening track “Resurrection” has got all the elements of a perfect album jump off point. A contagious riff, driving drum rolls and voice that refuses to be ignored. From there the Ohio band takes all sorts of unpredictable turns.
In the middle of the disc lies the album’s love-it-or-hate-it song, “Six.” It’s a nearly 10 minute epic work that begins quiet and softly spoken, erupts into thrash madness and then wraps back up for a long, trippy instrumental fade out. Heavy metal fans will praise this bold work, while hardcore fans may grow bored and skip to the next track. The mere fact that bands like Chimaira attempt to straddle both sides of the hard rock spectrum is worthy of admiration.
Remember it was not so long ago that heavy metal and hardcore did not coexist within the same club Nu-metal and now metal-core have smashed the boundaries between the two and found common ground in the desire to make some noise and smash some heads.
Chimaira: http://www.chimaira.com
