Chimaira - _Resurrection_
(Nuclear Blast, 2007)
by: Jackie Smit (7.5 out of 10)
It's a big shout (particularly coming from Kerry King himself) to compare Chimaira to a youthful Slayer. Readily branded a prototypical post-nu metal castaway, their first three Roadrunner-released discs garnered them an impressive following -- but they were a far cry from the enduring legacy of _Show No Mercy_ and _Hell Awaits_, and certainly weren't impactful enough to silence those detractors who'd lump them in with every other mall-core troupe going.

Cue a returning Andols Herrick to the drum stool and a new label home on the comparatively more credible Nuclear Blast though, and the Ohio quintet have actually managed to create a very competent modern heavy metal album. The opening title track is a hulking behemoth of chugging groove, discordant guitar lines and even the odd display of musical ingenuity in the shape of some very cleverly implemented keyboard lines and samples. A surprisingly epic "Six" shows off a rarely seen progressive side to the band, clocking in at nearly ten minutes and sounding something like a mash-up of Opeth and early Testament.

Still, for all their improvement as a band, Mark Hunter's vocals remain disappointingly one dimensional, and the lyrics veer toward the musings of a hormonally charged sixteen year-old blessed with slightly above average intelligence. But these are forgivable flaws in the face of storming numbers like "Killing the Beast" and "End It All". Even if you sometimes find yourself playing "spot-that-riff", _Resurrection_ has enough going for it that sitting through it is almost never an unpleasant experience.

Contact: http://www.chimaira.com

(article published 18/2/2007)


GIGS
8/5/2009 P Williams Motorhead / Arch Enemy / Opeth / Chimaira / August Burns Red / Nervecell / Hatred / Scarab Dubai Desert Rock Festival 2009
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