Chimaira
Photo: Roadrunner Records

What many consider to be one of the best metal albums of 2005, Chimaira's self-titled third offering sounded fist-tight, innovative and hungry.

Made after the 2004 departure of drummer Andols Herrick, who had grown tired of touring and wanted to return to school, the album was recorded in an atmosphere of discord, animosity and depression. And while Herrick's replacement, ex-Dying Fetus member Kevin Talley, was musically proficient, he and frontman Mark Hunter didn't get along on tour.

"Something didn't feel right, and we always wished Andols never left," explained Hunter. "It was like having a girlfriend leave you. There were a couple guys, including myself, who wanted to leave the band because we felt like we were out there killing ourselves for nothing, and it didn't look like anything was going to change."

Then came the Roadrunner United concert in New York at the end of 2005, an event that not only brought together past and present artists from Roadrunner Records, but also reunited Chimaira with Herrick. The drummer took the stage for two songs, and by the end of the night any thoughts of ditching the band for his degree had vanished in the din. "When he was up there, his face lit up like a kid at a birthday party," Hunter said. "Right after that, he said to me, 'This is what I need to be doing in my life.' He rejoined the band soon after."

With Herrick back in the fold, Chimaira negotiated their way off Roadrunner, because they weren't seeing eye-to-eye with the label. Then the musicians sat down for a heart-to-heart to air their grievances and hatch a plan for the future. Realizing they all still shared the same vision and goals, Chimaira returned with renewed enthusiasm and a new level of determination, and started writing their fourth album Resurrection, which comes out March 6 on their new label, Ferret Music.

"We named the album Resurrection because that's exactly what it was," Hunter said. "When we talked, we got everything off our chests and out of our systems, and now we're friends again. And we're writing and playing better than ever."

While Chimaira was mostly written by guitarist Rob Arnold, this time Hunter and guitarist Matt DeVries shared the songwriting duties, resulting in a far more eclectic album that ranges from simple and driving to complex and meandering. "It's a bit all over the place in a good way," Hunter said. "I think it's a good combination of [2003's] The Impossibility of Reason and the self-titled record. But I think that there's so much more energy behind it because everyone was so excited to be back together."

In addition to being more diverse, many of the songs are also longer. Hunter said the average track length is six minutes, and one number clocks in at 10 minutes. At the same time, he insisted that the progressive arrangements don't detract from the hookiness of the album.

"It's super-catchy without being Fall Out Boy or something," Hunter said. "There are really fantastic hooks that people are gonna latch onto right away as opposed to the last album where it might take you a few listens to get what we were doing. And it's not one of those records where you get it right away, and then three days later you're done with it. This is something you're gonna want to listen to over and over again. I say that because I don't listen to our records, but this record is still in my CD player."

Chimaira recorded Resurrection in October and November with producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, God Forbid) and Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Arch Enemy). Even though they didn't have a record contact when they started, for the first time ever they felt no pressure.

"It seemed like these songs took minutes to write," Hunter said. "We'd come in with a riff and the song would be done that day. We weren't over-analytical about anything. We just went for it and it was lots of fun. Me and Andols were making jokes because we were really into lifting weights, so, if a riff wasn't heavy enough, we would start pretending we were doing yoga. And once the riff got heavy, we would start doing some skull-crushers. We just had to get rid of what we called the estrogen riffs, and keep the stuff that really wrecked."

The band's jocularity continued outside of the studio. At one point, Hunter even pushed the wheelchair-bound Suecof into a swimming pool — not that he didn't ask for it.

"He's so talented and he has a great ear and a gift for getting sh-- out of you that you didn't know you had, but he has really bad ADD," Hunter explained. "The dude would say, 'OK, we're gonna start at 1,' then he'd roll in at 4 o'clock and go, 'Oh, I didn't even know we were recording today. OK, we'll I'm just gonna go make some food, smoke a cigarette and sit on MySpace for a while.' And we'd be like, 'Are you f---ing kidding me? Get to work, a--hole.' So, we had to wheel him into the studio more than we'd wanted to, but it was all worth it for what he brought out of us."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Arch Enemy have begun writing material for the follow-up to 2005's Doomsday Machine. At this stage, the band has written about eight tracks, and guitarist Michael Amott claims the songs are "life-changing and ridiculously huge metal hymns. This is all my own not-so-humble opinion, of course. You'll see." The group will start tracking the LP in March, and the album could be out this coming summer. ...Animosity have entered writing mode and titled their forthcoming album Animal. The band will begin recording the effort in April; its last album, Empires, was released in 2005. ...Next month, New York hardcore legends Madball will begin drafting material for their next full-length. "We've already got some basic ideas down, and this promises to be our hardest record to date," claimed the band in a statement. The outing is expected to hit stores this spring through Ferret Music. ...

The Acacia Strain are one member shy following the recent departure of guitarist Daniel Daponde. The split was described as amicable, and due to unspecified "health problems." The band has yet to launch a search for Daponde's replacement. According to a statement issued by frontman Vincent Bennett, "We miss [Daponde] a whole bunch, and we are sure you all do as well. Wish him luck in his future endeavors." ...Machine Head's forthcoming album, The Blackening, has been given a tentative release date of March 27. Look for the disc to feature the tracks "Halo," "Aesthetics of Hate," "The Beautiful Mourning" and "Now I Lay Thee Down." ...Sludge-metal specialists Neurosis began tracking their next album on Wednesday with Steve Albini (Nirvana, Zao). ...

Post-hardcore outfit Silent Drive have been writing songs for what will be their next album, and plan to enter the studio this spring to put them down on tape. In the meantime, you can catch them next month with FC Five and Crime in Stereo from Tuesday in Albany, New York, through January 7 in Pittsburgh. ...Threshold have wrapped the recording of Dead Reckoning, which is slated for a March 23 release. The album will boast nine tracks, including "This Is Your Life," "Pilot in the Sky of Dreams" and "Fighting for Breath." ...Project 86 have recruited Ulrich Wild (Deftones, Taproot) to produce the band's forthcoming LP, which it will begin tracking in Los Angeles next week. Expect the yet-untitled set to drop in late spring. Frontman Andrew Schwab said, "We want people to feel a little unsettled when they put on this record. This album will both fulfill and destroy previous expectations. We want to balance our staple sound, memorable songwriting and patented energy with a lot of experimentation. I think old fans will still have enough to grab a hold of, but those who think they know what a Project 86 record is supposed to sound like will be surprised." ...

The Red Chord plan to spend the next four months hammering away on the follow-up to 2005's Clients, which will be produced by Zeuss (Shadows Fall, Hatebreed) and will be titled Birdbath. ...

Danish thrash titans Hatesphere will hit the studio next week to start recording the still-untitled follow-up to 2005's The Sickness Within. An April 30 release has been set for the band's forthcoming opus. ...Caught in a Trap have settled on Rats Get Fat as the title of their forthcoming debut full-length, which is expected to surface in April. The disc was produced by Don Fury (Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits), and features 14 cuts, including "Nothing's Free," "Summer's Eve" and "All Out of Tomorrows." The band plans to launch a full U.S. trek within the next few months. ...Floridian death-metal masterminds Monstrosity have set Spiritual Apocalypse as the title of their next album, which should be out early next year and feature 10 to 11 tracks.

• Chimaira
• Arch Enemy
• Madball
• Project 86
• The Red Chord

Black Label Society's Zakk Wylde (file)
Photo: Getty Images/Jo Hale

New Jersey's own Zakk Wylde generally just doesn't give a damn about much. For example, beyond Killswitch Engage and As I Lay Dying, he doesn't know who's playing Ozzfest's second stage this year. But really, you can't exactly blame the dude. He usually doesn't get up until after noon, and even then, he's often nursing a hangover.

So when asked what he thinks of Wicked Wisdom, it's not too surprising when Wylde replies, "What's that?" After being told that it's the Jada Pinkett Smith-fronted group that takes the stage long before he rolls out of bed, he asks, "What does Jada Pinkett Smith do?" When he finds out she's the Hollywood actress married to Will Smith, who's also been attending all of the Ozzfest dates, he perks up. "F---ing Will Smith's been on the Ozzfest? What the hell? I need to get an autograph, dude. 'I loved you in "Ali," bro.' "

Wylde says he just doesn't care about "any of that [second stage] sh--. It cuts into time at the Irish tavern, you know what I mean, dude? Why? Is everyone pissing and moaning? What, because they're a new band? Dude, I don't get up that early. Have people been bottling them?"

Bottling?

"Heaving sh-- at them? Bottles? Dude, I remember when we did a show up in Toronto back in 2001, and ... it's too bad, because they were really nice dudes, too. But what were they? Crazytown? You know how you look at a light at night, and there's nothing but f---ing moths around it? Well, there's nothing but these f---ing bottles, these little Evian and Poland Spring bottles, and they're throwing them up there in f---ing droves. Poor bastards. But hey, it's a metal bill and you're doing hip-hop. Get this sh-- the f--- out of here."

For Wylde, who's been a part of Ozzfest for the last seven years, this summer's edition has been like all the rest. "Just a f---ing ass-kicking time, dude. It's like going to Great Adventure."

Once the tour's over, Wylde said he's got two projects in the works he needs to finish. The first is a DVD with live footage from several recent shows his Black Label Society played over in Paris and London; that, he said, could see release early next year. There's also a compilation CD that should be out around the same time, featuring all of the earliest BLS material as well as some bonus tracks, to be called Kings of Damnation.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Bränn Dailor, drummer for Atlanta grindcore masters Mastodon, told Metal File the band's been "collecting riffs and accepting ideas as they come" while on the road during this summer's Ozzfest. He said Mastodon plan to take a few weeks off this September before hitting the studio, where they'll "dump those ideas out and start putting it all together. We've got a lot of good ideas." Dailor said the band hopes to release its Warner Bros. debut next summer. ... Trivium will hit the road in November with Children of Bodom for a full U.S. tour; there are no definitive dates yet. ... Explosive D.C. grind act Pig Destroyer have lined up three West Coast dates with Uphill Battle, Phobia and Triac: August 5 at the Showcase Theater in Corona, California; August 6 at Los Angeles' Hanging Jury; and August 7 at the Voodoo House in Tijuana, Mexico. ... Roadrunner United— The All-Star Sessions, a disc slapped together for the label's 25th anniversary, is set to hit stores on October 11. The album features collaborations involving past and current heavyweights from Roadrunner's roster, including Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt, Glassjaw's Daryl Palumbo, Slipknot's Jim Root, Max Cavalera, King Diamond, Type O Negative's Peter Steele, Vision of Disorder's Tim Williams and others. Tracks include "Roads," "Constitution Down," "Annihilation by the Hand of God" and "The Dawn of a Golden Age." ...

Killswitch Engage guitarist and funnyman Adam Dutkiewicz was asked recently whether he'd be interested in touring with new Roadrunner labelmates Opeth: "I would love to. We can discuss math problems and castles. It would be awesome. I think they'll be into it. They just seem like they'd be down with both of those things." ... Sacramento's With Passion have lost two and gained another. The band's original drummer, Jacob Peete, is back in the mix, while keyboardist Brandon Guadagnolo and guitarist Andy Burt have departed to pursue other musical interests, according to the band's Web site. ... New York extreme metallers Genghis Tron were almost killed by a bunny last week. The band was driving to a gig in New Mexico at 70 mph when it struck a jack rabbit and lost control of its van and trailer. The vehicle rolled off the highway and the trailer was thrown 30 feet into the desert, but no one was injured. The accident forced Genghis to cancel the rest of their U.S. tour, which they hopes to make up at the end of the year. ... Irreverent hard-rock band My Ruin will release their new studio album, The Brutal Language, September 27. The band added bassist Chris Lisee and drummer Jason Brunk to its lineup after completing the disc. ...

Los Angeles stoner-metal band Fireball Ministry will release their third album, Their Rock Is Not Our Rock, October 18. The disc was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters) and recorded at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 West and the late Elliott Smith's New Monkey Studios. The album will be the first to feature ex-Systematic bassist Johnny Chow, who replaced original bassist Janis Tanaka. Fireball Ministry will open for CKY from August 8 in San Diego through September 11 in Norfolk, Virginia. ... Doom/punk powerhouse Debris, Inc., which includes Trouble bassist Ron Holzner and Saint Vitus guitarist Dave Chandler, will play a string of East Coast dates to support their self-titled debut, which came out in April. The 10-date tour will launch August 4 in Chicago and end August 13 in Dayton, Ohio. ... Canadian experimental thrash-metal vets Voivod have signed a deal with the End Records and will enter the studio in the fall to record their 11th album, which is due in early 2006. The band's last, self-titled album, its first to feature ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, came out in March 2003. ...

Thine Eyes Bleed have been added to this fall's International Extreme Music Festival, which also features God Dethroned, Byzantine, Nightrage, Hell Within, Epoch of Unlight and Lilitu. Thine Eyes Bleed's debut album, In the Wake of Separation, came out June 21. ... Sunset Strip rockers Beautiful Creatures will release their second album, on August 23. The disc will be the band's first since its 2001 self-titled debut. Beautiful Creatures are fronted by Bang Tango singer Joe Leste, previously played Ozzfest and opened up for Kiss before being dropped by Warner Bros. ... New York hardcore legends Madball will hit the road on September 7 in Revere, Massachusetts, for a 21-date U.S. headlining tour, with support acts Walls of Jericho, Misery Signals and Full Blown Chaos. ... God Forbid's IV: Constitution of Treason will be in stores on September 20 and features "The End of the World," "Crucify Your Beliefs" and "To the Fallen Hero." ... Guitarist Kevin Rampelberg has left the Red Chord; they are performing as a four-piece for the time being, as they search for a replacement. ... Converge have started working on the follow-up to 2004's You Fail Me. They'll preview some of their new material on an upcoming Canadian tour and at this year's Hellfest in late August.

• Zakk Wylde
• Black Label Society
• Voivod
• Mastodon
• Madball

<i>Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí</i>
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

The Princess Awakes: Detroit's Teairra Marí has melted L.A. Reid and Jay-Z alike, but it's the latter mogul who'll be giving the singer a presidential push this week with Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí. She's already made waves with "Make Her Feel Good," which samples Eric B. & Rakim and appears on this record along with two versions of "No Daddy," co-written by Sean Garrett (Destiny's Child, Beyoncé).

Yes, They're Related: New Zealand-born singer Natasha Bedingfield — sister of dance-pop artist Daniel — hopes to replicate her substantial European success with the U.S. release of her debut, Unwritten (she's only the third solo singer in U.K. history to debut at #1). The DualDisc has behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and more.

Another Blonde Gone: Faith Hill, who showed up on the cover of 2002's Cry as a tempting, sweat-drenched blonde befitted with a crucifix, now appears as a sleek, Pantene-d brunette on Fireflies. (Maybe husband Tim McGraw, who duets with her on "Like We Never Loved at All," had a few words to say this time around.) Expect a big splash from Hill's sixth record, which contains "Mississippi Girl," a song that debuted higher than any of her previous singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Fans can get the album signed through a limited offer on FaithHill.com.

The Prom Kings Got Game — But Where?: Funky L.A. rockers the Prom Kings have opened for Sum 41 and Papa Roach and have shipped to radio two hip-shaking cuts from their self-titled debut: "Alone" and "Birthday." Only time will tell if the Kings will crown their Game-featured golden egg, "Down," as single number three. Yes, that's the Game.

Rewriting History: Michael Penn tells a history lesson with his long-awaited fifth album, Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947, with wife Aimee Mann stepping in for a brief bit of bass playing and backup singing. A limited run has a bonus track, "Down by the Riverside," plus a video for "Walter Reed."

Song Titles of the Week:
"In a Lose, Lose Situation," followed by "In a Win, Win Situation" (Emery's The Question)

Other Notables:

• Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds

Has the Coop flown the way of Christina Aguilera ("Dirrty") and Kanye ("Diamonds")? Nope, he's just back to his bizarro ways, dishing up "Gutter Cats vs. the Jets," featuring a horn section; an obscure cover of the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina"; and a nod to 1973's watershed Billion Dollar Babies with "Sunset Babies (All Got Rabies)."
• Deadman - Our Eternal Ghosts and D'Nell - 1st Magic (BBE)

Texans Steven and Sherilyn Collins name-check authors (William Faulkner, on "Absalom! Absalom!"), painters ("Monsters of Goya") and Native Americans ("Sad Ole' Geronimo") on their third record, which has been getting raves in the U.K. In the meantime, D'Nell, another co-ed duo (don't be fooled by the SWF on the album cover), recorded their soul-meets-hip-hop debut in a London studio apartment.
• The Greenhornes - East Grand Blues EP

The White Stripes' tour partners don't really sound bluesy at all on songs like "I'm Going Away" and "Shelter of Your Arms." Think classic-rock throwback instead.
• Maria Muldaur - Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul

Grammy-nominated Maria Muldaur tips her hat to female blues legends like Memphis Minnie on Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul, getting a boost from Taj Mahal and Alvin Youngblood. And fans won't want to miss Muldaur on peer Angela Strehli's Blue Highway, which also features longtime collaborator Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• Various artists - The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned

In case you haven't been scooping up Light in the Attic's series of 12-inches hailing lost soft-psych group the Free Design, the label presents the entire fleet of remixes, plus a few unissued tracks, as The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned. Producers include Danger Mouse, Stereolab, Super Furry Animals and members of Belle and Sebastian and the Mars Volta.
• Various artists - Generations: A Hardcore Compilation

Sinking Ships and Robot Whales bring an aquatic feel to this Revelation roundup of punk up-and-comers.

Out Tuesday, August 2:

New releases:

• Amadou & Mariam - Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch)
• Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Epic)
  Buy Now: Unwritten (Epic)
• BA - Sports (Rah)
• Danny Barnes - Get Myself Together (Terminus)
• Bass Freq - Neon Skyline (Neurodisc)
• Blindside - The Great Depression (RTE/DRT)
  Buy Now: The Great Depression (RTE/DRT)
• Bliss - Quiet Letters (Quango)
• Bootcut - Hammond vs. Drums (Gadfly)
• Brazen Abbot - My Resurrection (Melodic Symphony)
• Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds (New West)
• D'Nell - 1st Magic (BBE)
• Deadman - Our Eternal Ghosts (One Little Indian)
• Benjamin Diamond - Out of Myself (!K7)
• Emery - The Question (Tooth & Nail)
• The Greenhornes - East Grand Blues EP (V2)
• Johnny Freeman - How Much Is Free (Southern Signal)
• Don Friedman VIP Trio - Timeless (441)
• Mitchell Froom - A Thousand Days (Inner Knot)
• Faith Hill - Fireflies (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Fireflies (Warner Bros.)
• Stan Hope - Put on a Happy Face (Savant)
• Houston Calls - A Collection of Short Stories (Rushmore/Drive-Thru)
• I Self Divine - Self Destruction (Rhymesayers)
• Lorene Drive - Romantic Wealth (Lobster)
• Madball - Legacy (Ferret)
• Madredeus - Faluas Do Tejo (Metro Blue)
• Teairra Marí - Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Mari (Roc-A-Fella)
  Read: "Jay-Z's Picks: Teairra Mari, Rihanna, Ne-Yo"
• Milk Inc. - Closer (Water Music)
• Mr. Del - The Future (Holy Hip Hop)
• Maria Muldaur - Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul (Stony Plain)
• Greg Osby - Channel Three (Blue Note)
• Michael Penn - Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947 (spinART)
  Read: "Free At Last, Michael Penn Attempts A Comeback With Mr. Hollywood Jr."
• Doug Pinnick - Emotional Animal (Magna Carta)
• Tristan Prettyman - Twentythree (Virgin)
• The Prom Kings - The Prom Kings (Geffen)
• Darryl Lee Rush - Llano Avenue (Infinity Nashville)
• Sahnas - Odyssey (Native Language)
• Sons of the Never Wrong - Nuthatch Suite (Gadfly)
• Angela Strehli - Blue Highway (MC)
• Turning Point - Matador (Native Language)
• Various artists - Dark Trance vs. Neogoth (Cleopatra)
• Various artists - Desire: Piano Tribute to U2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Fashion Lounge (Cleopatra)
• Various artists - Fusion for Miles (Tone Center)
• Various artists - Generations: A Hardcore Compilation (Revelation)
• Various artists - Harley Davidson: Ride (Capitol)
• Various artists - Kidz Bop, Vol. 8 (Razor & Tie)
• Various artists - Nu:Jazz Brasilia (Sunswept)
• Various artists - The Piano Tribute to Iron Maiden (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Pick Yourself Up From the Ground: Pickin' on Eric Clapton Vol. 2 (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Beck (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Franz Ferdinand (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Nickelback (CMH)
• Various artists - Prinz Myshkin: Treats From the Garden of Earthly Delights (Radikal)
• Various artists - Smooth Sounds Tribute to Mariah Carey's Greatest Hits (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - The String Quartet Tribute to Queens of the Stone Age, Volume 2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Tribute to Insane Clown Posse (Big Eye)
• Various artists - "Broken Flowers" soundtrack (Decca)
• Various artists - "Rainbow Six: Lockdown" soundtrack (Calvin) (dualdisc)
• Warren Brothers - Barely Famous Hits (BNA)
• Abigail Washburn - Song of the Traveling Daughter (Nettwerk)
• Wetton/ Downes - Icon (Frontiers)
• Reuben Wilson - Fun House (Savant)
• Madelin Zero - Gotta Know (Indecent Media)

Notable reissues:

• Johnny Cash - The Legend (Columbia) (box set)
• June Carter Cash - Keep on the Sunny Side: Her Life in Music (Columbia)
• John Coltrane - The Bethlehem Years (Shout! Factory) (two CDs)
• Bill Cosby - Inside the Mind Of (live) (Geffen)
• Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt (Kemado) (with second disc containing five unreleased bonus tracks)
• Richard Hell - Spurts: The Best of Richard Hell (Rhino)
• Marshall Tucker Band - Just Us (Shout! Factory) (with two bonus alternate takes)
• Charles Mingus - East Coasting (Shout! Factory) (with eight bonus remixes)
• Public Enemy - Power to the People and the Beats: Greatest Hits (Def Jam)
• The Rolling Stones - Forty Licks (limited-edition box set) (ABKCO/Virgin)
• Six Feet Under - 13/ Graveyard Classics, Vol. 2 (Metal Blade)
• The Slits - Live at the Gibus Club (Castle/Sanctuary)
• Various artists - The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned (Light in the Attic)
• Various artists - "Raging Bull" soundtrack (Capitol)

DVDs:

• Beulah - "A Good Band Is Easy to Kill" (Music Video Distributors)
• Impotent Sea Snakes - "Alive in Germany" (Music Video Distributors)
• Suzanne Vega - "Retrospective: The Videos of Suzanne Vega" (Universal)
• Various Artists - "Cool Runnings: The Reggae Movie" (Universal)
• Various Artists - "Give 'Em the Boot (A Film by Tim Armstrong)" (Epitaph)
• Various Artists - "The Industry" (Image Entertainment)
• Various Artists - "Poets in Hip Hop" (Music Video Distributors)
• Various Artists - "Rap Life: Behind the Scenes" (Bayside Distribution)

• Teairra Marí
• Natasha Bedingfield
• Faith Hill
• Michael Penn
• Alice Cooper