Resurrection Review

Release Date: Mar 6, 2007
Label: Ferret Records
Genres: Metalcore
Number Of Tracks: 11
Chimaira’s first album since being dropped from Roadrunner shows the band is thinking outside of the box.

Sound:	8.3
Lyrics:	7.3
Impression:	8.3
Overall rating:	8
Users rating:	8.2
Comments:	42

overall: 7.7

Featured review by: UG Team, on march 06, 2007

Sound: Anger was probably an essential emotion that drove the making of the latest Chimaira record, particularly considering this was the first release since being dropped from Roadrunner Records back in 2006. Resurrection has a lot going for it aside from the passion, with guitarist Rob Arnold supplying some incredible riffs along the way. While it never breaks that much new ground in the general metal scene, the band has still succeeded in adding in some unusual styles into their songs.

The CD starts out with the perfect song in terms of re-introducing itself as a band post-Roadrunner. “Resurrection” is pretty straightforward in it's delivery, but it still features a cool song structure. The intro effectively builds in intensity, and later on brief, manic guitar solo sections from Arnold are thrown in at various times. Considering this album follows a fairly dark period of the band, the song does relay that the band has recovered musically unscathed.

One of the most intriguing tracks on Resurrection is “Six,” which starts off with an almost mystical-sounding intro. You can hear hushed, enigmatic vocals in the beginning, with a touch of Middle-Eastern music backing it up. Several different turns are taken in the course of “Six,” but it continues to come back to a pure melodic line much of the time. It’s cool to hear the band balance out the metal with something more stripped down, and if nothing else, it proves the band has a lot to offer under the distortion and double bass pedal.

There are moments on the CD when the band does get stuck in the same place. “Worthless” is a bit monotonous at times and doesn’t quite match up to the creativity heard in “Resurrection” and “Six.” That is, however, until you get to Arnold’s solo, which is every bit as strong as his other work. This is the first album that Arnold didn’t write most of the songs, but it’s good to hear that his influence is still ever-present in the solo work.

The gruff vocals will undoubtedly annoy some people, but vocalist Mark Hunter does experiment with some other vocal styles along the way. While some have said the new record is a completely different turn Chimaira, the band is still staying true to its sound and should please its dedicated fans. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: It’s not always easy to make out all of the lyrics, which may be a problem for some listeners. But once you get past the inaudible aspect of the songs, there are some cool lyrics behind it all.

The title song is undoubtedly influenced by the band’s tough times, and you can hear the passion come through Hunter’s vocals. He sings, “Free at last; Finally tasting happiness; Five years of hell for nothing; Trapped inside minds of failures.” The fact that “Resurrection” seems to be speaking to the Roadrunner label (Chimaira was at Roadrunner for 5 years) makes the song all the more biting. It’s great to hear a band get that kind of aggression out after being dropped from a label.

Quite a few songs deal with anger and frustration, which is probably understandable considering what the band went through before recording Resurrection. However, there are those who will undoubtedly find these themes a bit cliche (“Black Heart,” “End It All”). // 7

Impression: For fans looking to get the most Chimaira music that they can, there are 2 versions of Resurrection out there for the taking. The regular CD will include 11 tracks, while the bonus edition will also include 2 bonus songs (“Kingdom Of Heartache” and “Paralyzed”), as well as a DVD showing the making of the album. We didn’t receive the DVD version, but that is probably the one to go for, if only to get more insight into the mood that was present while making Resurrection.

On the record the band is at its strongest with a song like “Killing The Beast,” which never needs to go insanely fast to make a chilling impression. It’s kind of a creepy song -- in a good way. Songs like that give listeners the chance to see the band is not just rehashing roaring vocals and lightening-fast tempos song after song. The fact that the band is able to introduce interesting chord changes and even the Middle-Eastern musical touch really shows Chimaira is thinking outside the box. There are more than a few standout tracks on the record, and it’s likely that Roadrunner might be reconsidering their decision to drop the band. // 8

overall: 8.3

Reviewed by: Schecterplayer5, on june 28, 2008

Sound: As brutal and pounding as Chimaira's always been. Mark's vocals haven't changed much, but that's not a bad thing though, as I personally love his vocal style. One thing I think really gave theis album a huge punch was the return of Andols. This dude can play that double bass like there's no tomorow and he proves it on songs like Six and No Reason To Live. Chris Spizzuca adds not a numetal tinge to it but almost a feeling of epicness especially on songs like Six (as you can probably tell, this is one of my favorites) and Empire. Rob continues to lay down skullcrushing riffage as always, and his soloing has improved since thair last record in my opinion. The record gets repetitive at times, but there's never really a moment where you want to skip over anything. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: These guys must've been pissed off when writing the lyrics for this record. Virtually every song oozes either anger, violence, depression or an unhealthy combination of them. Not to say the lyrics are poorly written. Infact, with the exception of Worthless which to me sounded like a teenager having a fit over another kid, the lyrics we're very well done. However, those who are easily upset should skip over songs like No Reason To Live, and defenitely The Flame, because they can get pretty brutal, the latter steps into death metal-based lyrics. but hey, nobody buys a Chimaira album expecting a happy and uplifting record. // 7

Impression: Overall, I'd say this is easily their best album to date, and one of the better releases of 07. Their formula hasn't changed much since The Impossibility of Reason or thei Self-Titled, but their still is a different feeling to it. The Tracks I'd recommend are Six, Empire, and The Flame but really there aren't many weak points here (Worthless was the only one that didn't click for me). I'm really glad to see Andols back with the band, he adds so much to the Chimaira sound. And if this were stolen, Hells yeah I'd buy this record 1000 times if I had to. // 9

overall: 8

Reviewed by: howey, on august 30, 2007

Sound: Chimaira have a great thrashy sound which is gaurenteed to get you moving. I havn't come across anything quite like this before. It's a very well done album sound wise, guitars, drums and bass all sound great. It's a good mix between their past albums, it has the more mellow side from immpossibility of reason and the more sinester side from chimaira. Another good thing about this album is that all the songs on it are relativly easy to play and this goes for all chimaira.

01. Resurrection - this is the most thrashy song on the album, and gets you hyped the first time you here it. Awesome riffs running throughout the whole thing and a catchy chorus make this one a winner.
02. Pleasure In Pain - nice and simple song, I like how the guitars follow the vocals and how the double kicks just keep comming. This is what to expect on the album, if you're planning on downloading a song and then deciding wether to buy the album or not this is probably the one to judge it on.
03. Worthless - probably me least favourite song on the album, it's very repetitive and the death metal vocals at the end just do not suit the song.
04. Six - best song on the album hands down! This is a song that approaches the 10 minute mark. The whole song just comes together so well and the intro sets the perfect mood for the rest of it. There's an awesome 3 minute instrumental part in the middle of the song which is what makes this a shining light among the rest.
05. No Reason To Live - this song has a great buildup and you just know it's going to be intense. The strange sounding guitar, then the double kicks, then one guitar, then two guitars. The chorus of this song is one of the most memerable on the album.
06. Killing The Beast - this song isn't great, it's a little to bare although there's a good outro to it. The song is just to raw for my liking and it dosn't really fit the rest of the album.
07. The Flame - overused guitar riffs throughout the first half of the song, although the second half is awesome and the end of the solo has a great transition back into the song.
08. End It All - good second half again, the first half is just not that special. There's a nice solo in this song. And a new vocal style for chimaira for a few seconds closer to the end.
09. Black Heart - this song just dosn't do it for me, I like the intro but the song just loses me after it has passed.
10. Needle - awesome riff! Far to overused but still awesome none the less. This song would be one of the best on the album if it wasn't so repetitive.
11. Empire - nice ending to the album, really good intro, maybe a little to long though. Keyboards are used to their full potentials in this song and it's really what makes the song an ending to the album. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics on this album are average the highlight probably being on 'no reason to live'. The singing on this album is great though and you see a more polished side of chimaira with clean singing and some harmonized vocals in different points. I'd say the best song on the album vocal wise would be 'no reason to live' it's just a great song and the vocals fit it really well. // 8

Impression: The album is a step in a different direction for chimaira, which hasn't really worked in my opinion. I still miss the IOR sound. The best songs on the album are Six, Resurrection and No Reason To Live. I think this album has a few totally awesome tracks if only it was more consistant it would be far better. I find the songs have great startings or endings but they don't seem to keep you wanting to listen to the whole song. A good example of this is the song Needle after you hear the intro riff you've basiclly heard the whole song and sure it's a great riff although just hearing that for 3 minutes isn't that great. This album definatly has it's highs and lows, but overall it is a good album. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another copy. // 8

Comments

[kurtmb]

Excellent

[drykilltrivhead]

Dang, I can not wait to get my hands on this c.d. I have all of their other c.d.'s and I even have their first demo c.d. "This Present Darkness" Love these guys and cant wait to get my copy.

[bikenutter]

am listening to it at the mo - this album kicks ass!!!

[I_Forgot_My_Pen]

It's a really good album. Track 3 is the only one that bugged me out. Seeing them next mnday with killswitch and dragonforce

[Quantonyne]

i had this about a month ago and i liked what i had heard, i think i might dust it off and listen to it again.

[skindred]

the dude didnt mention the flame, that song owns the whole album. i preffered impossibility and self titled though, its a step down for them which is hard for me to say since they're my fav band

[RocknNtheNameOf]

That CD is insane!!!!! This review captured everything perfectly!!

[no mercy]

definetly one of my favorite bands. I picked up "Pass out of Existence" a couple of years ago and have been uder the influence ever since!

[Amito]

it's not bad, prefered their last two albums but this one is still good

[666_Pounder]

you guys should go on albumbase they had this mid january .....

[ZeRoGuY]

the more i listen to it the better it gets. and after watching the documentary i like it even more!

[nirvanafan11111]

tis a great album, although for the record they werent dropped they left roadrunner!! And have no grudge towards roadrunner as is shown in the massive thankyou they give them at the start!!!

[flesh fries]

saw them play some of this live...didnt like what i heard, and i got the cd hoping id made a misjudgment...i was wrong...the self titled cd blows this and all the other cds out of the water

[chimairakid]

can i just point out, that you dont really mention the fact that rob is lead guitarist not just guitarist. also Resurrection the song, has only one solo, not "solo sections". And roadrunner never dropped the band. the band asked to be released from their contract. this is a pretty poor review.

[JasonShredder]

Aggressive and powerful. Same ol' dark mechanical riffs.....a few experimental areas(cool stuff). I like it, but do prefer Roadrunner albums over this. It seems like they took a step down. I dont know the circumstances, but what could possibally make your band leave Roadrunner??? I pick up thier records just cause of their rep. And they dont let me down by signing crap. One of the biggest names and best reputations in the business. Ah well, good luck to Chimaira with Ferret. Horns up!!

[mrs. jimmy page]

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!

[xtreme450]

I was actually wondering today when this album came out. I am definitely gonna need to pick this one up. Does anyone else think the album art looks like the Licker from Resident Evil?

[Malignant.]

you keep saying they were dropped from RoadRunner bu they werent... Chimaira hated being on the label after they finished recording s/t because they got no promotion out of it and they were treated like crap by the label because they had bigger bands to focus on like fag bands Trivium and Dragonforce. They asked to be let out of their contract and RR didnt hesitate.

Good review mostly... Although some things I dont agree on.

[69.so.fine]

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!

Did... we just get punk'd?

[slayersaves22]

fuk i hope its good i hope it isnt another pass out of existence, plz be impossibily of reason two

[br4vw]

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!

nobody cares about that - whats your thoughts on the album?

enough of this omg shit

[marcus00]

mrs. jimmy page :
omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!

You better put a lot of your eggs in this basket because based on your grammar and spelling, you don't seem to have a lot more to look forward to in life.

Do yourself a favor. Quit sucking up to the band and bragging about your connects. Go to school, read a book or two and work on getting a G.E.D. at the very least.

[marcus00]

P.S. I think this album deserves a much higher rating. Solid from the first second to the very end.

I think it's a great follow up to their self-titled album. The guitar work really stands out (for me anyway). A lot more solos than I expected.

[Nidaros]

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!

Wasn't your dad friends with the guitar player? :/

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

i no the guyz in chimaira. there pretty cool. my dads friends with the guitar player.

[Nidaros]

P.S. Great record, Chimaira's best record to date in my opinion. I really like Killing the Beast, very dark and looming. Go buy!

[Futilaty]

To me Pleasure and Pain, Worthless, No Reason to Live, The Flame, End It All, Black Heart, Needle, and Empire are the BEST...
the whole cd kicks ass...

/m/ X_x /m/

[Futilaty]

Futilaty wrote:

To me Pleasure and Pain, Worthless, No Reason to Live, The Flame, End It All, Black Heart, Needle, and Empire are the BEST...

And Six n Resurrection....
the whole cd kicks ass...

/m/ X_x /m/

[deadstorm]

Pretty good album.. But not the best in my opignion.. Killing the Beast and Empire are probly my favorite songs on the album!

[Bu||eT]

What a great album this is.

[sbass12]

i've never heard of these guys, maybe i should look into them a little.

[Gregoric]

i think the flame is my favourite song, just love the lyrics 'I will make you FUCKING BLEED!!'

[insidethehorror]

I bought 2 copies of this cd.. one for my room.. one for my car.. its that good.

[mrs. jimmy page]

Nidaros wrote:

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!


Wasn't your dad friends with the guitar player? :/

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

i no the guyz in chimaira. there pretty cool. my dads friends with the guitar player.

my dad is friends with both but he is better friends with the drummer... he became better friends with the guitar player later and now hez good friends with the lead singer.

[mrs. jimmy page]

marcus00 wrote:

mrs. jimmy page :
omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!


You better put a lot of your eggs in this basket because based on your grammar and spelling, you don't seem to have a lot more to look forward to in life.

Do yourself a favor. Quit sucking up to the band and bragging about your connects. Go to school, read a book or two and work on getting a G.E.D. at the very least.

first off all becuz i have bad grammar and spelling on here doesnt mean i talk like that in real life. and i'm not sucking up to the band. i no them ( just like u wish u did) i'm just saying that they're gonna teach me sum songs so i can post them on here, but i guess i'm just "sucking up" so i guess theres no reason for me to do that now. and i'm sorry... whats your grade point average again? i plan on going to college! and what are your goals? yeah... i dont think working at mcdonalds is gonna pull it off...

[mrs. jimmy page]

br4vw wrote:

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!


nobody cares about that - whats your thoughts on the album?

enough of this omg shit

did i not say "AWSUM ALBUM" at the end? cuz thats exactly what it is. 5 stars.

[AnEvilWalrus]

Awesome cd, it's a little different from their old stuff, but that's not necissarily a bad thing.

The best song on here would have to be Empire, for sure.

Rock on guys

[A7XDeathbatGNR]

I have been a Chimaira fan since The Impossibility of Reason. I love how they put a darker feel on this album. They gave Chris Spicuzza (the electronics guy) a bigger role on this album, which contributes to its darker feel.

[no/mas/control]

This album was awsome they really showed different styles and techniques it give it 8.5 the best song on the album was six

[spencer Cr]

the flame has the coolest intro, broken glass a girl screams. it deffinatly tell you the story right off the bat

[postmortem2006]

Nidaros wrote:

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!


Wasn't your dad friends with the guitar player? :/

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

i no the guyz in chimaira. there pretty cool. my dads friends with the guitar player.

owned

[Kornjack]

JasonShredder :
Aggressive and powerful. Same ol' dark mechanical riffs.....a few experimental areas(cool stuff). I like it, but do prefer Roadrunner albums over this. It seems like they took a step down. I dont know the circumstances, but what could possibally make your band leave Roadrunner??? I pick up thier records just cause of their rep. And they dont let me down by signing crap. One of the biggest names and best reputations in the business. Ah well, good luck to Chimaira with Ferret. Horns up!!

roadrunner didnt promote them for shit thats the reason they left, and their going so much better now

[Schecterplayer5]

mrs. jimmy page wrote:

omg!!!!! i love chimaira!!!! my dad is absolutely great friends with the drummer (Andy) and i personally no the guyz in the band! they live by me. they absolutely rock. there gonna sho me how to play sum of their songs, so as soon as i learn sum of the songs, i post on here. anyway..... AWESUM ALBUM!

...Oh you defenitely know the band, just as nuch as you know the drummers name is NOT Andy but Andols...

I can see bullshit when I see it, and i hate bullshit.