CHEVELLE

“Wonder What’s Next”

Epic Records

Chevelle. Sure sounds like it should be the name of a car, but it isn’t. It’s the name of a band of brothers from… well, from wherever the hell it is that they’re from, I guess! Who cares where they’re from, right? All we care about is, do they kick ass, or what? In the metaphorical sense, I mean. They all look pretty skinny, so I kinda doubt they could actually, say, kick Slayer’s butts in a bar fight… but in a musical sense Chevelle does pack a bit of a wallop. Their new album is called “Wonder What’s Next”, and it’s title is a question the band strives to answer in true heavy metal fashion right from the opening riff. Chevelle is a power trio, meaning that there are only the three brothers in the band. I have to admit I have a soft spot for threesomes –oops, I mean, three-pieces - so what follows may seem gooey and over-effusive. Keep chewing that pizza and read on!

There is no way to prepare you for what roars out of the speakers at you when you drop “Wonder What’s Next” into the cd drawer. The Loeffler bros’ first album, 1999’s “Point #1” was a heavy slab to be sure, but throughout this new disc the band sticks to a tight formula of catchy, harmony laced (and, apparently, Christian based) vocals delivered over a foundation of down tuned, near-bludgeoning metal progressions. The more you turn it up, the better it sounds; and that, kiddies, is what it’s all about. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Oh, I’ve heard that ‘God-rock’ stuff before, stuff like Stryper… it’s too wimpy”. Nope. Chevelle keeps a religious eye on the sledge-o-meter, they make sure that at some point in your headbanging to their music, you’re going to turn to the person next to you and go, “Man, these guys are cranking!”

Dispensing with the ideology discussion, “Family System” opens the album with the first crunchy riff, building and building in intensity, with all involved making lots of noise, until singer/guitarist Pete looks up from his bruised fretboard to angrily report the following:

I’m tired of your open mouth

Crawling inside my skin

And this play we never quit

The fight within the cross begun

Say that it’s too late

When a man has gotta learn to hate

One of the heaviest songs on the album, Chevelle wisely chose “Family System” for the opener. This is one pissed-off song! It begins and ends in violently dark fashion, standing a bit apart from some of the other, perhaps more melodious metal songs offered within; a good example being “Comfortable Liar”, which shows that the band can dish out some melody to go along with their sizeable gonads. It’s a pretty good tune, with some stinking, lying rat being set straight by Pete’s accusatory chorus. Next up to the plate is “Send The Pain Below”, which is ok but nothing to write Mom about, I guess. Just a little on the bland side for my tastes. Now watch it become a huge hit, so I can look like a ding-a-ling! Luckily, “Closure” picks things up again. Chevelle has drawn a lot of comparisons to the hugely popular Tool; and on “Closure” they kind of cross into that territory with a very Tool-ish sort of vibe. But it’s a cool song, Tool would be proud of them if it weren’t for the fact that “Wonder What’s Next” easily blows Tool’s latest album out of the water. But I didn’t say that.

Now, my friends. Now the band lets us have it both barrels: “The Red” is upon us. This track is becoming a huge hit for the band, it’s where everything they’ve already done and learned comes together in a song that’s all theirs – it’s super-catchy yet still heavy as hell, and just mysterious enough in that you can’t figure out what it’s supposed to be about - the true mark of any classic! Dare I call “The Red” a metal classic? Well, maybe. We’ll see how I feel after radio gets done beating it into my skull. For now, it’s their best song to date. And it’s a tough act to follow for the album’s title track, “Wonder What’s Next”, which doesn’t feature a lot of memorable moments. Should I reach for the ‘skip’ button? Click. Ah yes, much better! “Don’t Fake This” features a nice percussive groove, with talented drummer Sam Loeffler placed front-and-center. Right up there with “Family System” and “The Red”, “Don’t Fake This” is one of the disc’s moneymakers. Although I guess it’s here that I’m starting to notice a little unnecessary screaming ala Staind going on… and I can’t stand Staind.

But that’s a minor sticking point. The screaming goes on these days, it’s something that a lot of these young bands seem to need to in the middle of an otherwise perfect song. Who am I to tell them they can’t let loose in a blood curdling wail with no warning and, seemingly, no reason? There’s more unholy shrieking on track 8, “Forfeit”, but it’s not a particularly inspired song anyway, so it doesn’t seem to matter as much. Ok now I seem to be into the down side of the album, the songs are not as killer here. “Grab Thy Hand” has the kind of title that steers me away, for some reason. I listened to it, but there’s more of the Tool-on-crack screaming and stuff; besides I’ve always been a “run from the light” kind of guy, truth be told. So those two are a couple of clunkers. Things do get better on “An Evening With El Diablo” which pretty much smokes and has a heavy rhythmic groove that only a quality three-piece metal outfit can understand and create. The disc closes with a kind of crappy acoustic number that I didn’t care for, called “One Lonely Visitor”. If this one becomes a hit, I’ll eat Pamela Anderson’s shorts!

So yeah, I guess I’d usually prefer my heavy metal heroes to drag Budweiser and groupies (and pizza!) back to the hotel after the show, but once I got around Chevelle’s different point of entry, I realized that when you’re settled into the headphones, it really doesn’t matter what the heck the band is singing about, only that they believe it enough to catch that spark and to make you catch it with them. On “Wonder What’s Next”, you’re probably going to find that spark in there somewhere, waiting for you. Run to the light!

- R. A. Dion

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