SOUND BITES

Fun fact #1: Tool has released zero records since 10,000 Days , some 122 months ago (and counting). Fun fact #2: Chevelle has released five records in the same time span. Fun fact #3: Evil Joe Baressi, who worked on 10,000 Days as an engineer/mixer, has produced the last three Chevelle records. Fun fact #4: This trilogy of records represents Chevelle's transition from mopey hard rock also-rans to no-holds-barred alt-metal juggernauts. The North Corridor takes the viciousness of La Gargola and dials back somewhat on that record's in-the-red fatigue, allowing the background flourishes that were once swallowed up by mastering to add to the music's overall feel; I can actually listen to this in my headphones without tapping out. While it makes no bones about its influences (Tool, Deftones, Alice In Chains, etc.), it refuses to be just a reasonable facsimile. It's also relentlessly heavy, with the Loeffler brothers cramming throat shredding screams, volcanic riffs and m...

7  GOOD It doesn't appear as though much has changed for Chevelle as they ramp up to the release of their eighth album; that said, Joyride makes good on earlier promises that the trio would bring the heavy. It's not particularly melodic or nuanced, but that hasn't really been Chevelle's M.O. for some time; Joyride prefers to get the job done with brute force, and get the job done it most certainly does. The North Corridor is coming out sometime in July.

"Are you up for anything?" is the question Pete Loeffler asks in the opening seconds of La Gárgola ; unfortunately your response is moot because, by the time he asks, the band is already off and running, revving up the old chug-a-chug engine and blasting from the gate with a velocity not often heard on a Chevelle record. It's a jarring, surprising turn from a band previously criticized for being not much more than a Deftones/Tool tribute band. While they've been content to put up with such unnecessary attacks in the past, on this record they're on the offensive early and often. Tempos are up, and the songs are barbarically heavy. Part of this is thanks to the production of "Evil" Joe Barresi, who also helmed 2011's surprisingly spry Hats Off To The Bull ; part of it is due to spirited performances by the group. There is a glaringly detrimental side effect to the increased focus on heaviness, and that's the sound quality. I don't want to sou...

CHEVELLE Face to the Floor From: Hats Off to the Bull Released: December 6 Chevelle is one of those bands that time seems to have forgotten.  Bursting onto the scene with their 2002 breakthrough Wonder What's Next , they rose above the throngs of like-minded, downtuned rock bands of the era because of their penchant for strong use of melody, bombastic choruses, and their non-reliance on chest pounding, I'll-fuck-your-shit-up bro-rock.  However, as indie rock ushered in a sea change and substance became more valuable than volume, Chevelle were an unfortunate casualty by association.  As our interest waned, so did theirs; fourth album Vena Sera was a tired copy/paste job of what had preceded it, with nary a true standout track to be heard. Hitting the wall, so to speak, and getting knocked down a few pegs seemed to lift a weight.  They responded to their new found underdog status with the surprisingly strong follow-up Sci-Fi Crimes in 2009.  By now, Ch...