This seems to be another one of those bands that is either loved, or hated. The three brothers, Sam, Pete, and Joe, got so much national attention with the success of "The Red" that they went from unknown to superstars quite fast. Alot of people base their like or dislike, once again, it seems, solely on the airplay that "The Red" got..which, in some cases, was too much....and in some...was not enough
Pete - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Joe - Bass, backing vocals
Sam - Drums
The Tracks
Family System (4:17)
Opens somewhat ominously with guitar and a haunting sort of sustained "ooh" from Pete. Rips wide open into the main riff, which is at first a single note, goes into chords with the whole band. Pete establishes his habit of adding unusual semi-harmonics early with this song. One of the strongest aspects of Chevelle, in my opinion, is Pete's singing. It's clear, and it's powerful. There really isn't much of a chorus section in this song, but rather a few verses, a bridge, a second sort of bridge which returns to the intro, then the main riffs are repeated a few times, ending with the opening ominous riff. Good way to open up the album
Comfortable Liar (3:43)
Opens with a long pickscrape before jumping into the verse. Pickscrapes are added every now and then for effect...again, no *real* chorus here...they change the riff up right about the 2 minute mark...it gets 'chuggier'...ah, now here's the chorus...sort of...there is a mini bass solo after this repeat the original riff a few times, repeat the heavier riff a few times, end on a pickscrape and volume swell down.
Send the Pain Below (4:12)
The second single, was almost played as much as The Red...opens up on a decidedly 'happier' note than the first two tracks, with some interesting harmonics thrown in. Verse is played clean, chorus is distorted...the same riff that opened it up, minus harmonics. After second chorus, there is a breakdown section..starts clean, breaks quickly into distortion...end on another chorus or two...Joe adds some backing vocals in the final choruses...it's much more noticable on their DVD...but he's there, he sounds slightly higher than Pete does...
Closure (4:11)
The third single...opens cleanly...and is played clean for most of the time...hey, you can actually hear the bass on this one...well...ok, you can hear it on most of their songs, but...I don't have much to say...This track is much mellower than their other songs, with the exception of last verse/chorus and the breakdown at the end...which I really like. It's nothing like a hardcore or death metal band's breakdown, but it's still faster, and loud. Joe adds vocals to this one as well.
The Red (3:58)
The song that made them who they are. I shouldn't really have to talk much about this one...it's in 6/8, it's pretty slow...there is what passes, very minimally as a guitar solo in this one....it's really just a bunch of G's over and over, but it gets changed up a bit, especially live...add in his 'trademark' harmonic...repeat chorus...you all know how this goes...I hope.
Wonder What's Next (4:10)
Arguably their hardest song on this album...guitars get overdubbed a bit...lots of harmonics and weird things going on though...sounds very...interesting....break back into the main riff...verse riff is semi-machine-gun-like...it's nothing like death metal, but it's decently fast...Pete screams alot more on this song...and then he actually sings really low and fast...I can't understand him under the guitar...I think the bass gets some distortion later in the song actually, but I'm not sure...they do alot of repeating in this song towards the end...the end is quite heavy, with doubled guitars, I think some bass distortion, and Joe adds vocals...
Don't Fake This (3:39)
Opens clean, a la STPB...breaks into distortion faster though...this song actually sounds like Send a little bit too...at least at first...gets harder at 1:00...then back to original distorted riff...a faster, punk-like riff breaks in midway through...the "chorus" is just Pete screaming "DONN'T...FAKE THIS!" over that heavy riff. Another cycle of repetition before ending on a slightly modified riff.
Forfeit (3:59)
Might be my favorite song on here. Opens with just guitar, and a heavily palm muted riff...no real chorus in this song either, but there is a riff where the chorus would be, which I like. Repeat verse/"chorus" structure...although Pete does more screaming of "FORFEIT!" in this "chorus"...more of the harmonics of his, which sound particularly evil on this song...again...not death/black metal evil, but still cool. A bridge section, which is just him saying "step up" and switching between left and right channels with a riff that reminds me of the Slipknot sound...a little...another "chorus" or so, and end.
Grab Thy Hand (4:13)
Starts right off with a decently heavy riff, moves into something...it's distorted, but higher. This song is more melodic than most of their other songs...this song is a bit haunting too...the chord progression, the reverb on the vocals...etc...some mini machine-gunning in this song too...a bridge section at 3:00 mark...with slightly modified riffs with Pete screaming over it all..
An Evening With El Diablo (5:58)
Opens with only bass, then drums...I love this riff. It's so simple, but...effective. There's an echo effect on some of the vocal parts...break in the guitars for a moment on heavy distortion...then it goes clean, with that bass riff still penetrating it...a (long) verse...a chorus...Pete screams some of it at first, then just sings...very powerful here...guitar plays the bass riff in the next verse...another chorus...or three...a second guitar line comes in around the 4:30 mark or so...I like the harmonizing...this song actually ends at 5:40...so the next 18 seconds are blank...?
One Lonely Visitor (4:06)
Opens with just Pete singing, and he's playing...well, I don't want to say acoustic guitar, but maybe it is...I think Joe is singing this one too, because the vocals sound doubled and there's some reverb on it too...this is an almost total departure from the rest of the album...no bass, no drums...just singing, and what appears to be acoustic guitar(s). Very moody, but calming as well. A great way to end the album
Likes:
Simple, but effective, riffs
Pete's singing style
Sam's drumming
Joe's backup vocals
Interesting Harmonic work
Dislikes:
Lack of solos
Insane repetition
Overall:
Alright...so they don't solo, and they repeat things a bit too much...what else is new with mainstream music, right? Meh. They have great riffs that are easy to get into...and they wrote their songs with plenty of places for a solo, but they are nonexistant. Yeah, solos don't make the music, but they don't usually hurt them either. Looking past that, Pete's singing is amazing. He has power, clarity, and intensity, and screams pretty well too. Sam's drumming is great, with good use of double bass, and very nice fills. I didn't hate the bass on the album, but it didn't really stick out either...other than Joe being able to harmonize vocally with Pete. The harmonics utilized by Pete gave many songs a different, edgier feel to them. If he's not going to solo...use the harmonics more often. I give this a 3/5...I really think it's something everyone should look into...even if you have to skip The Red when you play it.
