Time Signature Clockwork...

Genre: modern thrash metal

On The Age of Hell, Chimaira play a sort of modern thrash metal with references to both industrial metal and alternative rock. Think slayer meets Fear Factory meets Alice in Chains – sounds like a combination destined to be a failure, but it actually works quite well.

The album starts out pretty aggressively with the title track 'The Age of Hell', which is quite the kick-ass track, but on the second track 'Clockwork', Chimaira shows that they are much more colorful with the insertion of melodic choruses sung in a clean, but sort of grungy voice, while the verses are growled. The entire album is a well balanced combination of aggressive furious Slayer-esque thrash metal riffs combined heavy and groovy riffs, some of which have a Machine Head feel to them while others are more in the vein of Fear Factory's mechanico-nightmarish riffage. And as a nice dynamic touch, there are these passages where the guitars a clean and have a more alternative rock feel, and these ar often accompanied by the above-mentioned clean, but grungy, vocals. There are also a couple of really nice metalcore-like breakdowns every now and then, without Chimaira ever susceptible to accusations of relying on breakdowns.

The Age of Hell is a nice reminder that, amidst the horde of retro thrash metal bands (and don't get me wrong, I really like how old school thrash metal has stormed back onto the metal scene over the last couple of years), there are also artists, like Chimaira, who look ahead and move thrash metal forward, while still remaining true to the essence of the art form that is thrash metal.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

UMUR "The Age of Hell" is the 6th full-length studio album by US thrash/groove metal act Chimaira. The album was released through E1 Music in August 2011. After a couple of lineup changes Chimaira is back with a new hard hitting assault. I´ve followed the band sporadically over the years and while they´ve always maintained a quality level higher than most of their contemporaries, my interest in their releases has been a bit up and down. I think they´ve had a hard time topping "The Impossibility of Reason (2003)", which IMO is their best album. "The Age of Hell" is fortunately in the better end of the scale when it comes to releases by Chimaira.

The music on the album is not easy to tag, as it is essentially a hybrid of thrash, metalcore, deathcore and alternative metal. It´s always been like this with Chimaira though, so it´s not like they´ve changed their core style much on this album. However they´ve written more memorable tunes than usual this time around and I find myself greatly enjoying album. The groovy mid-paced riffing, the occassional fast paced thrashy Slayer-type riffing, the ultra heavy breakdowns, the aggressive vocals (which a few times are close to growls), which are occasinally spiced up by clean Alice in Chains-type clean vocals, and the powerful sound production are all elements that make this album quite the effectful listen if you desire to have your head bashed in, but also desire an occasional more commercially assessible sound. The tracks aren´t terribly adventurous, sticking pretty closely to a vers/chorus formula, but there are little surprises along the way that keep the album fresh. An example is the ambient part a couple of minutes into "Clockwork".

I wouldn´t say Chimaira have reinvented themselves or anything like that, but they´ve upped their game with "The Age of Hell", and the album is certainly a worthy purchase if you´ve enjoyed earlier releases by the band but it would also be a great starting point if you are new to the band´s music. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is warranted.

Double-D The godfathers of the so called "New Wave Of American Heavy Metal" are back! For some reasons Chimaira didn't reach the success they deserved which is really poor because they have their own unique style that puts the band above the cliches of mediocre metalcore often labeled to their music.

The Age Of Hell is their sixth studio record. There are some line-up changes but the core of the band consisting of guitarist Rob Arnold and vocalist Mark Hunter are still here so all the typical Chimaira elements have found their place on the album. Of course as usual they added some new nuances to their music. In contrast with it's predecessor The Age Of Hell is much more diversed and complex. In fact the album is some kind of combination between "Resurrection" and "The Infection". All songs clock around 4 minutes. The exception is the great closing instrumental track called "Samsara".

The production of the album is clean and powerful. Rob performs some really impressive guitar solos and Mark alongside with his typical aggressive harsh vocals makes some clean parts where the vocal harmonies remind of Alice In Chains.

With The Age Of Hell Chimaira prove themselves as one of the most innovative bands in metal music today. I really hope they'll get the reaction this fantastic album deserves. The Age Of Hell is highly recommended to all open-minded metal fans.

Kingcrimsonprog Chimaira have had a rough time; it seemed as though the world was at their feet in the wake of their zeitgeist grabbing second album The Impossibility Of Reason which was released in 2003, but after that album had passed the press never kept up the same level of interest in the band.

In 2009; Chimaira released possibly their strongest album to date, ‘The Infection,’ and no one seemed to actually notice outside a circle of existing fans. One would frequently hear people say things like they though Chimaira had broke up, or that they only made one good album anyway.

This was quite unfair as Chimaira have been one of the most consistent bands in the entire genre; continually churning out extremely strong albums, constantly improving as musicians and songwriters and genuinely putting in huge amounts of effort live and in relations with their fans.

Now it is 2011 and the band have lost three members (Jim La Marca, Chris Spicuzza and Andols Herrick) but returned to the studio with long time collaborator Ben Schigel, who has both produced the album and performed as the drummer as well to create their sixth studio album, The Age Of Hell.

As always vocalist Mark Hunter and lead guitarist Rob Arnold form the core songwriting unit, so the album still retains the overall Chimaira sound. Rob’s guitar style anchors the album; Mark’s vocal range has always expanded slightly with each new record and The Age Of Hell adds a few new dimensions to the man’s repertoire.

The songs are all a lot shorter and more direct than on previous Chimaira albums and mostly faster than on The Infection, which focused more on the band’s groove side, you almost get the sense that the band seem to have made a concerted effort not to repeat The Infection.

The Age Of Hell at times seems as though it is trying to evoke The Impossibility Of Reason, for example on the pre-released ‘Trigger Finger,’ and “Born in Blood” (featuring Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel on guest vocals,) which feature a few riffs here and there that sound a lot like “Power Trip,” “Pure Hatred,” or “Cleansation.”

Also like their popular 2003 record, the album closes with a grand, guitar solo filled instrumental track. Some fans will see this as a good thing and others may view it as a cynical move to counteract waning public interest.

The Age Of Hell isn’t all rooted in the past however; tracks like ‘Clockwork,’ ‘Powerless,’ and ‘Year Of The Snake,’ add new dimensions to Chimaira’s sound, be they Pink Floyd style ambient moments, or just fresh takes on metalcore that you haven’t heard before.

The overall quality of songwriting and musicianship on is phenomenal and the album is a great listen, full of creative riffs, interesting solos and a drumming performance that fits the band so well you wouldn’t know Andols had left if no one told you.

If you are one of the people who didn’t give up on the band, you will find The Age Of Hell to be another strong Chimaira album that still features enough of what made the band great and that has a unique place within the band’s overall catalogue.

Overall, The Age Of Hell is a good album which I hope reignites a wider interest in Chimaira, who really deserve it based on the effort and quality they put into touring, any of their products and how they interact with the fans.

Kingcrimsonprog Chimaira are certainly not a band to rest on their laurels. I got into Chimaira back when Nu Metal was still popular, back with Pass Out of Existence, which may be seen as almost embarrassing by modern standards but Chimaira have since become one of the greatest metal bands of all time, and have proven time and again their artistic prowess while never sacrificing their core metal qualities.

After The band became the darlings of the metal community with The Impossibility Of Reason Chimaira have set out on a path to create the perfect metal album, with their very progressive and dense self titled album they proved they could be artistic as well as brutal and with Resurrection the band mixed super slow numbers with break neck speeds to create a varied and interesting listening experience.

With The Infection it almost seems like Chimaira are fearlessly taking the parts of their debut album that did work (Think 'Severed' and parts of 'Sphere' or 'Painting The White To Grey') mixing them with the slower moments from Resurrection (Think 'Killing The Beast,' 'Six' and 'The Flame') and making the whole mix both fun and relevant to modern metal.

The whole album forges along at a mid tempo pace, sounding for the most part like the breakdowns from your average NWOAHM song turned into an entire song. The emphasis, for the entire album is firmly on 'Groove.' This is by no means a bad thing, as The Infection is one of the most intricate, fun and heavy releases modern metal has to offer. Chimaira fearlessly seek groove after groove without once resorting to killer speeds just for the sake of balance, a refreshing attitude by any band.

Mark Hunter; one of the greatest vocalists in Metal has the admirable quality of growing with each passing release and The Infection is no exception, Mark displays a wider array of voices and styles than on any other Chimaira record from soulful singing, to straight up Death Metal vocals by way of his trademark screams.

The band's underrated additional sound man Chris Spicuzza is at his most noticeable since the band's controversial debut album, laying down keyboards, theremin and other electronics in a way which is both tasteful and exciting, revealing hidden depth in the music and adding an additional layer of complexity to the already virtuosic music. All this praise to levy and the three string players still remain uncredited, the dependable Jim and Matt perform as well as everyone expects and guitar legend Rob adopts a more subtle approach on these songs, making the whole affair seem like a more concrete band collective, rather than Rob's solo project.

Standout tracks include the varied opener 'The Venom Inside,' the catchy 'On Broken Glass,' and the epic instrumental closer 'The Heart Of It All.'

Chimaira's newest album is far from a rehash of their previous work, but rounds out their career in such a way as too make every one of their previous albums seem to form a complete set. The Infection takes direction from all of the bands previous works; be it the high in mix electronics from the debut, the guitar tones from Impossibility, the artistic outlook from the self titled and the slow heavy menace of Resurrection and combines them to form the band's most vital and interesting album to date.

The music is as heavy as its ever been, the production is top notch, the songs are memorable and well written and the lyrics fit well with the rest of the band's repertoire, The Infection is arguably the band's finest album to date.

**** This limited edition contains the Bonus track 'Warpath,' which is more than up to the same standard as the rest of the album, and fits well altogether. It also contains a brilliant 'Making Of DVD' made by the same people who made the last 2 Chimaira DVDs. If you've seen one of those you'll know what to expect; if not rest assured you're money is well spent, Chimaria always release stylish and informative documentaries which display large amounts of artistic performance, band interviews and flow at a surprisingly well designed pace.

If you are a fan of Chimaira, do not hesitate, order this as soon as you can, It really is that good. ****

Kingcrimsonprog Chimaira’s Coming Alive is an absolutely tremendous package, a true must-own that no Chimaira fan should even consider being without. The set contains a concert DVD taken from the band’s tenth annual hometown Christmas concert, a CD of the same concert minus the final song and as the main feature, a three hour Documentary in four parts that covers everything the band have been up to in the two years prior to its release. First off, the concert DVD is simply put and without hyperbole the greatest concert DVD I have ever bought (and this compliment comes from someone who absolutely loves concert DVDs)

Director Todd Bell is a genius and this film is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, his unique and inspired cinematography really pushes the boundaries of what a concert film should look like. It almost seems like up until now concerts were just filmed and edited in a utilitarian way and Todd Bell is the first person to really ask how else it could and should be done. The only thing that is even close in style is Nine Inch Nails’ amazing looking `Beside You In Time,’ concert and `The Slip,’ bonus DVD, but this goes even further. From the choice of shots, the unusual choices in depth of field and framing and the band’s own excellent light and video show you really get a truly unique and fantastic viewing experience.

From a purely visual perspective this is the finest looking concert DVD on the market, not just from metal bands but even from million dollar rock bands who can afford the best. Don’t think however, that this is just a treat for the eyes because the performance which Chimaira lays down is practically unrivaled and again this is without hyperbole, the energy and passion in the practically note perfect and ferociously heavy concert is breathtaking. Every musician either plays or sings their heart out, with Chris’ cutting backing vocals and Rob’s guitar solos being particularly noteworthy.

Highlights include an extended slightly version of `Severed,’ a Mark-on-guitar featuring `The Flame,’ with a very passionate vocal performance and the stupidly good performance of `The Disappearing Sun.’

The track listing is really great and no Chimaira album is left unrepresented, the band do a good job mixing obvious choices and fan favourites like `Power Trip,’ and `Pure Hatred,’ with surprise inclusions like `Dead Inside,’ and the instrumental closer `Implements of Destruction,’ (which is intermittently inter-cut with credits but not in an intrusive way) and the result is a varied and hugely entertaining concert.

The sound is fantastic, at first unusual given the trend in sounds of recent music DVDs but by the end of the first song you will realise how excellently the actual live sound of Chimaira has been captured, any drummer will love the live tom and snare sounds and everyone can enjoy the guitar tones which actually convey the fact that musicians are playing the instruments rather than a soulless studio perfect style that masks the musicians performance. Palm muting especially sounds fantastic here and I hope more bands adopt this recording and mixing style in the future.

This concert is only one of the two features; The four part documentary on disc one is superb (in addition to the bonus feature of the previous released `Making of Resurrection,’ documentary on disc two.) Only one part has been previously released on the `Making of The Infection,’ bonus disc with the majority of the content being completely new.

The content in question involves following the band around in the build up to the release of The Infection, on release day and on the subsequent tours in a similar manner to Lamb of God’s `Walk With Me In Hell,’ documentary.

If you’ve seen a Chimaira Documentary before you’ll know what to expect and if you haven’t this package includes most of them anyway. If you thought that the band couldn’t make a package to top ‘The Dehumanizing Process,’ you may be in for a pleasant surprise.

Overall this is a truly astounding package featuring over three hours worth of excellent and entertaining documentary footage from a very likable and down to earth band, a live CD and possibly the greatest Live DVD ever made.

Kingcrimsonprog Chimaira’s The Dehumanizing Process is a brilliant DVD, a really enjoyable package that every Chimaira fan should own. This really is a fantastic package, not only does this DVD feature the incredibly informative an entertaining ninety minute documentary feature, The Dehumanizing Process but it also boasts a really well recorded and performed live concert, all of the band’s music videos (at the time) and finally a nine tack CD, featuring the entire of the band’s 1999 independent album This Present Darkness.

The documentary is very detailed, discussing all aspects of the band from their relationship as people, to their relationship musically, with the record company and with people outside the band. Other topics for discussion include the making of The Impossibility of Reason, The Video for Down Again, the band’s line up changes and just life in the band in general.

I watch a lot of band DVDs and I can honestly say that this is my favourite and has been for some time. Several times a year I’ll break out the excellent documentary and the 33 minute live concert will get watched on a pretty regular basis.

The concert track listing is : 1. Powertrip, 2. Cleansation, 3. Severed, 4. Eyes of a Criminal, 5. Down Again, 6. The Dehumanizing Process and 7. Pure Hatred

The band are full of energy and play a really tight, professional set with all the power and aggression of the album versions. Mark is an excellent frontman and does his best to instruct and inform the crowd as well as really being able to pull of the vocal delivery live. In fact, that pretty much goes for the entire band, the complex drum brakes, guitar solos and everything in between is executed flawlessly and this in conjunction with the superb sound mix, camera work and video editing makes for a really worthwhile and enjoyable viewing experience.

While you won’t be watching the music video for ‘SP Lit,’ or ‘Down Again,’ on a regular basis it certainly nice to have them on the disc. All together, the extra features such as the linear notes and the humorous optional commentary for the main feature (not to mention the bonus CD) all contribute to what a fantastic and well rounded package this is, it would’ve been very easy to release a cheap rip off for the fans to cash in on the band’s new found popularity at the time, but instead we were treated to this excellent product.

I highly recommend this DVD to every single Chimaira fan and also fans of the similarly natured Killswitch Engage Documentary/Concert package ‘(Set This) World Ablaze.’