February 2022 Feature Release – The Gateway Edition
So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.
This month’s feature release for The Gateway has been nominated by Andi. It's the 2002 "Wonder What's Next" sophomore album from Illinois-based alternative rock/metal outfit Chevelle. I'm only vaguely familiar with Chevelle's sound through my experiences creating The Gateway playlist but I've invariably found them entertaining so it's about time I took the plunge & experienced the full-length Chevelle experience.
https://metal.academy/releases/5771
Thanks Daniel for accepting my feature release submission! Here's my review summary:
This is another album in which one of the songs I remember from 10 years ago, before I started my "true" metal interest. There was ONE SONG my brother likes and can play on his guitar, which I'll tell you soon. So while my brother played a song he enjoyed, I was reviewing the album that song is in. There is some lack of talent, plus a bit of repetition, but what to expect is catchy enjoyable hard rock/alt-metal... Speaking of brothers, that's what the 3 members of this Chicago-based band are. The band consisted of drummer Sam, vocalist/guitarist Pete, and (ex-)bassist Joe. When Chevelle formed in 1995, they played in small parties and clubs all over Chicago for 4 years, and made their 1999 debut Point #1, to some success. They were then signed to Epic Records for their second album. Wonder What's Next is a platinum-hitting album that gave some of their singles mainstream radio-play. This hard rock/alt-metal band displays Pete's dynamic vocal style that is enjoyable despite some repetition, reminding some of Tool and Breaking Benjamin. Any fan of those bands should dig the guitar ranging from soft strumming to hard rock riffing and Pete's vocals that can range from loud as a cat's screams and sharp as a cat's claws to as soft as a mouse. "The Red" is one of those great tracks, and that's the ONE SONG from the album my brother can play on guitar. I'm glad to still enjoy this song from my first time listening 10 years ago. I can definitely recommend the rest of this album to him and other alternative music fans. It will really make you WONDER WHAT'S NEXT....
3.5/5
Recommended tracks: "Family System", "Send the Pain Below", "The Red", "Wonder What's Next", "Forfeit", "An Evening With El Diablo"
For fans of: Tool, Breaking Benjamin, Karnivool
WOW This is opening up a can of nostalgia!
I remember Chevelle being one of the first bands discovering and getting into back in the mid 2000s as I was just starting to get into metal. I approached them even without all of the grungy, pre-teen angst that was so prominent in nu-metal at the time. And you know what? I enjoyed it quite a bit. They knew how to write a decent pop song with heavy guitars, and a taste of ambiguity that is not all that uncommon in metal music.
After a while though, Chevelle just sort of...fell off my radar. Nothing that they did changed my opinion of them, but rather I just got caught up in more interesting music. Apparently they continue to make music to this day and I'm sure it's good, but I haven't found the time or effort to listen to it. So going back to 2002's Wonder What's Next reminds as to why I enjoyed this band at first.
It's quite repetitive, simplistic and the heavier moments do not hit with the same intensity as nu-metal does from Slipknot, Linkin Park and Mudvayne. But they do know a way around a hook, with "The Red" being one of those throwback tunes that hits me with true nostalgia endorphins, not the faux nostalgia of liking a trend but never truly being apart of the core fanbase. The sound of the record is very good as well. The vocals are mostly performed authentically, but vocal layering is added for additional effect. Instrumentally the guitars take center stage and with only a few exceptions (i.e. the bridge on "Send the Pain Below"), they are uncompressed allowing for the full effect of the down tuning, as well as bass to be felt.
7/10
As I said above, this was my first attempt at a full-length Chevelle record & I've gotta say that I was well impressed. Much like last month's Karnivool feature release, there's nothing terribly original going on here but the material is all full realized & beautifully executed. I'd suggest that Chevelle's sound sits right in the middle of your early-to-mid 90's alternative rock/grunge sound & a heavier alternative metal one with Tool, Deftones & Bush all being strong influences. Hell, the title track even seems to draw on classic Soundgarden for inspiration. Vocally, front man Pete Loeffler certainly sounds very, very close to Tool mastermind Maynard James Keenan & that will always see the bands tied together. Rightly so too. I mean you can't really miss the Tool worship right from the very first seconds of opening cut & album high point Family System as it's fairly blatant in nature. Thankfully I'm a big Tool fan & wish they'd released more material so I actually value this release for partially filling that gap & in order to do that Chevelle needed to really nail their sound, a task that they've succeeded at with flying colours by utilizing a similarly powerful guitar crunch to Tool axeman Adam Jones. Does this record reside in the poppy post-grunge camp with the likes of Creed & Nickelback as some critics seem to indicate? Fuck no it doesn't! It's certainly catchy as hell but it's got a fuck-load more integrity & weight than that. I don't find it to be repetitive as others mentioned above & can't see where there's any lack of talent either. Once the hooks dug their talons in each of the songs gained their own personality & I actually think most metalheads with an interest in alternative metal will really dig this record as long as they don't go into it with any misleading preconceptions.
4/5
Review here, this was actually a pretty classic album for me to revisit.
I find this to be completely inoffensive overall yet an incredibly front-loaded album. By the time track five rolls around i have heard the repertoire of Chevelle end to end I feel. Not a band i can say i am familiar with but also one that i feel I know well enough due to the already mentioned similarities to Tool and Deftones. I get some of that blunt Helmet riffage also. As I say the first five tracks are more than sufficient for me (with the possible exception of the overtly whiny Send the Pain Below which I can easily do without).
3/5
Although I seem to enjoy this album a bit more than the rest of you, I have to admit that the closing ballad is pretty flat & was a poor option in my opinion. It's the only track on the album that offers me little in the way of appeal.