Overplayed Band of the Week: CHIMAIRA

Yeah I know, I skipped a week, so sue me (actually…I am currently poor as fuck, so please don’t!)

The first time I heard Chimaira was during Slayer’s God Hates Us All Tour back in 2001. Chimaira had just released Pass Out of Existence and were picked up by Slayer along with American Head Charge for this “grand tour.” Now, this was my first metal show ever, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect, and, to be honest, I was a little nervous considering this was fucking Slayer. So American Head Charge and Chimaira play their sets, and to be perfectly frank, both sets were God awful. I was surrounded by metal fanatics who had come to see Slayer and no one was moshing, no one was headbanging…nothing, until of course Slayer came on, and that was pretty much a trial by fire for me. The point is, Chimaira wasn’t worth while then, and this trend continues. I have seen this band begrudingly 3-4 times in my concert going career, and every time has been a waste of my time (they relied on half naked strippers dancing around stage to make things interesting during the last time I saw them).

To me, if a band can’t wow me live, they are probably not going to hold their own on record either (there are, of course, always exceptions to this rule), and that is exactly the case with Chimaira. These guys have been consistently riding the wave of mainstream metal since their inception, and unlike many of their counterparts (i.e. Killswitch Engage), they simply don’t do a good job convincing me that they are worth listening to let alone purchasing from! Normally, this is where it would stop for me. They can go their way with their fans, and I can go my way. However, for some reason, Chimaira ALWAYS seems to pop up on various, legit tours (hence the reason I seem to see them so often), and their albums are rated high enough, and maintain enough purchasing power to warrant media attention. I wish I could ask “why?”, but realistically I know the answer.

Americans like to abuse themselves with below average music…simple as that.

CODY