I want to take you back in time a bit - to the 90's. And I know what you're thinking: ‘ugh, why the 90’s?’ or 'hey, I could be watching cat videos right now,' but just stay with me... Every decade claims highs and lows in music. In terms of rock, we witnessed power metal giving way to grunge and then the myriad of sub genres that would follow into the turn of the century. For me, it was a time in which radio heavily influenced my taste - in part because the radio was free and because I didn't have money of my own to purchase music. I had to save a lot pennies to buy my first CD player, let along all the music I wanted to play on it. As I explored more music, I leaned toward louder and heavier. Coal Chamber played a big part in my musical education.
When I heard that Coal Chamber was getting back together for shows in Australia, I was more than a bit excited. Coal Chamber was one of the first bands to introduce me to dark, heavy music. I had their CDs and had to copy their music onto cassette tapes for my car. I don't remember the first time I heard a Coal Chamber tune, but I can still picture that recordable cassette tape, its clear plastic case, white label and two words scrawled as neatly as I could manage: "Coal Chamber." There was nothing better than driving around after school with the windows down, blasting "Loco" as loud as my pithy speakers could handle. And it didn’t matter who was driving with me - I assumed everyone needed to experience this music. After they disbanded, I faithfully followed lead singer Dez Fafara to Devildriver and that opened my world to so many other bands.
After much hype and anticipation, a US tour was announced, and I didn’t hesitate in buy my tickets for their show in Worcester with Lacuna Coil and Sevendust. Following Dez and the rest of the band on Twitter gives you a sense that these guys are friends and love playing together. Perhaps time can heal many wounds. This seemed like so much more than a band’s reunion tour. In fact, don’t even call it a reunion tour. Coal Chamber picks up with the songs they left us with all those years ago and takes it a another level
From Chela Rhea Harper's taunt opening bass riff on “Loco” to the final chorus of “Sway,” Dez and co put on an utterly transformative show. I’m going to say it... This may have been one the best shows of any band that I have ever seen. They sounded great, which at the Worcester Palladium can be a challenge. Somehow Dez's vocals overcome all obstacles and he commands a stage like few others can. He shares his love, his thoughts, and his life with his fans - asking only for their electric energy in return. Meegs Rascon's eerie guitar work and Mike Cox's thunderous drumming brought to life songs that have sat mostly idle for more than a decade. I'd go as far to say that new life has been infused - these songs sounded like they came from an album released this year - with all the affect and emotion of a band passionately playing the music they love and tearing the place apart in the process. Most of set came from tracks of their first and third albums, but I was happy to hear “Not Living” and “No Home,” off of Chamber Music. Nothing left out and nothing held back. As it should be.
Setlist (from Setlist.fm)
1.
Loco
2.
Big Truck
3.
Fiend
4.
Rowboat
5.
Something Told Me
6.
Clock
7.
Drove
8.
Not Living
9.
Dark Days
10.
I
11.
No Home
12.
Oddity
13.
Sway
