Coal Chamber: Reunited

It’s been a busy fall concert season and I have several new posts in the works. However, I have to put them aside for the moment because on Monday, Coal Chamber announced that they are reuniting! Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed that they’re only going to be playing a few shows in Australia and I haven’t yet figured out how to get there… job transfer, stowaway, hot air balloon. Even so, the news itself is incredibly exciting. We’re talking about COAL CHAMBER. After almost ten years since singer Dez Farfara left and the band broke up, they have settled their differences, cleaned up, and decided to play music together again.

Coal Chamber developed their own unique style of heavy metal, characterized by chunky, dissonant guitar, hammering percussion, and aggressive bass. All of this was capped with Dez’s hypnotic growl. The band only released three albums from 1997 – 2002. Each offered a slightly different take on the CC sound. For me, Coal Chamber was instrumental in introducing me to metal. I was immediately entranced by Dez’s vocal delivery and the incredible wall of sound created by just a 3-piece band. I love listening to the reverberation of the bass strings and Dez’s layered vocals. I was completely addicted from the first few bars of “Loco,” from their self-titled release. Chamber Music introduced more flow and atmosphere to their sound. It also included a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey" with Ozzy Osbourne. I copied both CD's to cassette tape so I could listen to them in my car! Finally, Dark Days was a well-produce, polished version of their first album.

I’m not going to talk about the controversies, rumors, or anything else surrounding their break-up. What’s important here is the fact that people can overcome their differences and recognize their friendship. For the fans, and there are many of us out there, the news of a reunion just makes us hungry for more. My twitter feed on Monday was completely consumed by Coal Chamber. If Dez and the others were wondering if people would be interested in Coal Chamber shows, they quickly got an answer. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hold onto the hope that this is just the beginning of the rebirth of Coal Chamber.

A trip down memory lane for your enjoyment…

Coal Chamber is:
Dez Farfara, vox

Meegs Rascon, guitar

Mike Cox, perc

Chela Rhae, bass

Dez also fronts DevilDriver (as if you didn't know); Meegs and Mike have also formed We Are The Riot.