Chevelle had a pretty big record a couple of years ago, mostly
due to the single "The Red," which was played relentlessly
on rock stations everywhere. I was one of the those who picked
up the album, and I was kind of disappointed. "The Red"
is a great song and I thought it showed the promise this band
had, but the rest of that disc was pretty lackluster.
Slowly, Chevelle dissapeared until now. "Vitamin
R" was the first single, and everyone was asking the
question, "Have you heard the new Tool song?" I
wasn't too impressed but decided to check out the disc anyway.
And I'll tell ya, this CD is damn good. The band has
stepped everything up a few notches, with heavier guitars,
more aggressive vocals and, most noticeably, badass double-bass
drumming. The songs are well structured and will keep
you moving and even singing along. "The Clincher,"
"Get Some," "Still Running" and "Another
Know It All" are all worth repeated listens—most
of the disc is, for that matter. The album as a whole is an
enjoyable listen and should end up being fairly popular among
rock and modern rock fans. It does sound a lot like Tool in
parts, but maybe that’s a good thing. With Maynard doing
acoustic covers with A Perfect Circle, and Tool putting out
just a mess of an album with their last effort, this is a
sound that's been missing in rock for a few years now.
It's nice to see Chevelle not giving in to labels and radio
by writing an entire album of radio-friendly singles. Yes,
there will be a few songs here on radio, but the CD as a whole
is a huge step up for this band and probably a little too
hard for most rock radio stations. It holds up after
repeated listens and is the best modern/alternative rock release
I've heard so far this year. |
