Coal Chamber (album)

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Coal Chamber
Studio album by
Coal Chamber
ReleasedFebruary 11, 1997 (1997-02-11)
StudioNRG (North Hollywood)
GenreNu metal[1][2]
Length49:22
LabelRoadrunner
Producer
Coal Chamber chronology
Coal Chamber
(1997) 		Chamber Music
(1999)
Singles from Coal Chamber
  1. "Loco"
    Released: June 22, 1998

Coal Chamber is the debut studio album by American nu metal band Coal Chamber. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Roadrunner Records and contains the single "Loco". The special edition of the album contains the bonus tracks "Headstones and the Walking Dead", "Big Truck (Hand-On-Wheel Mix)", "Pig (Demo)", "Sway (Demo)", "Unspoiled (Demo)", and "Loco (Demo)" (all of which are available on Giving the Devil His Due). The DVD features two of the band's concerts, a live video of "Loco", and the music video of "Loco".

It has been certified gold by the RIAA, with an excess of 500,000 copies in the United States and is the band's most successful album.[3]

Three singles were released on the album: "Loco", "Big Truck", and "Sway". "Loco" and "Big Truck" were released in 1997, while "Sway" was released in 1998. "Loco", "Big Truck", "Sway", "Oddity", and "Clock" were released on their greatest hits album.

Background and recording[edit]

Coal Chamber was formed in Los Angeles in 1992 by vocalist Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascón, originally under the name She's in Pain.[4] They met after simultaneously putting out ads looking for a guitarist and vocalist, respectively,[5] and bonded over a mutual love for the Sisters of Mercy.[6] After a few shows, they adopted their present name in 1993.[5] By spring 1994, their lineup had solidified, featuring bassist Rayna Foss and drummer John Tor.[5] Coal Chamber recorded a demo tape in August 1994,[5] which was given to Roadrunner Records head of A&R Monte Conner by producer Ross Robinson.[5][7] Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares also recommended the band to Conner.[8][9] Roadrunner subsequently offered the band a record deal, but as they were negotiating, Fafara left Coal Chamber due to disagreements with his wife.[10][5] The band were unable to find a replacement for him and so "just partied and wasted time", according to Fafara.[10]

After eight months,[11][10] Rascón visited Fafara and asked him to return to Coal Chamber, who became active again by spring 1995.[12] Conner was unaware that Coal Chamber had reunited until Dino Cazares gave him a new demo from the band during the mixing sessions of Fear Factory's second album Demanufacture (1995), after which he reconnected with the band.[5] The band were in negotiations with Roadrunner for over a year before they officially signed to the label, in December 1995.[8][9] A few weeks prior to their signing, John Tor was fired for "constantly fighting" with Rascón, after which they hired Mikey Cox as their new drummer.[4]

Coal Chamber was recorded in 45 to 50 days with producers Jay Gordon and Jay Baumgardner at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California.[5][9] Ross Robinson had been expected to produce the album, but ultimately did not.[5] In a 1998 interview with RockOnline, Fafara said that whilst he had "a lot of respect" for him, Coal Chamber believed they would have turned them into something that they were not.[13] He later said that the band "ran away" from him and selected Gordon and Baumgardner instead because people were comparing them to Korn.[14] The band knew of Gordon through Rascón, and Baumgardner was the owner of NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California.[5] Neither Gordon or Baumgardner had worked on a full-length album before.[8] Roadrunner initially gave Coal Chamber a hard time about choosing their own producers,[9] but relented after Gordon sent a demo of "Pig" to Monte Conner, who was impressed by its recording quality.[5]

Music and lyrics[edit]

The album's sound has been compared to Korn and White Zombie.[15] Regarding potential comparisons to Korn, Rascón stated in an April 1997 interview "We take it as a compliment. Korn's a great band. People have to compare us to something, I guess. We also get White Zombie and Marilyn Manson a lot."[8] The song "Sway" includes the line, "the roof the roof the roof is on fire we don't need no water let the motherfucker burn burn motherfucker burn", which is taken from the song "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three.[15]

A number of the album's songs are about Fafara's ex-wife,[16] who left him on the day he began recording vocals.[8] About the meaning of the song "Loco", Dez Fafara explains: "That's about living in Los Angeles and just wanting to do something different. And having a persona around myself where people think I'm a little nuts, but really I'm crazy for music. I was living in Los Angeles, trying to come out of that environment after it was totally devastated by hair metal and everything else. No one was going to clubs, there was no real scene in Los Angeles until bands like Coal Chamber and Deftones came out of LA. So that's what 'Loco' is about".[17]

Release and promotion[edit]

Coal Chamber was released in the United States on February 11, 1997, and in the United Kingdom on March 17, 1997.[18][19] It was Roadrunner Records' first nu metal album.[5] Prior to releasing the album, the band were already known in heavy metal circles for performing at the inaugural edition of Ozzfest in 1996,[20] which also led to Sharon Osbourne becoming their manager.[10] Mark Palmer, the manager of Roadrunner's UK branch, said that the album's buzz was "something we haven't experienced since the first Machine Head record, Burn My Eyes [(1994)]".[19] The album debuted and peaked at number 76 on the UK Albums Chart.[21] It also debuted at number seven on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, where it logged 57 weeks on the chart across several stints.[21] Conner said that the album was not initially considered a priority at Roadrunner, and as such the label did not ship a large amount of copies or have a music video filmed before its release.[5] In its first week of release, it only sold 844 copies in the United States.[5] The album debuted at number 43 on the Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart on January 18, 1998.[22] By April 1998, it had sold 240,000 copies in the United States.[23] It peaked at number 10 on the Heatseekers Albums chart on August 8, 1998.[24][25] The album was selling 5,000 copies per week at its peak, and continued to sell consistently for three years.[5] On December 21, 1999, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying the album had shipped in excess of 500,000 copies.[3] However, Nielsen Soundscan, which tracks album sales, reported that it had sold approximately 448,000 copies by March 2002.[26]

To support the album, Coal Chamber toured heavily throughout the entirety of 1997, sharing the stage with artists such as Anthrax, Danzig, Downset., Faith No More, Grip Inc., Helmet, Machine Head, Pantera, Sevendust, Soilent Green and Type O Negative.[27][28] In the summer of 1997, they performed at Ozzfest, their second consecutive appearance at the festival. In October 1997, "Loco" was serviced to radio stations in the United States.[29] A music video for the song was filmed with director Nathan 'Karma' Cox, a longtime friend of the band.[30] Like Gordon and Baumgardner, had not directed a video before.[13] He would go on to direct videos for bands such as Disturbed, Linkin Park and Queens of the Stone Age in the early 2000s.[30] On June 22, 1998, "Loco" was commercially released as a single in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 80 on the UK Singles Chart.[31][32] The touring cycle lasted up until mid-1998, after which the band began focusing on a follow-up.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Chronicles of Chaos5/10[33]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[34]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[35]
In Music We Trust9/10[36]
Kerrang! (1997)[37]
(2011)[38]
Ox-Fanzine[39]
Rock Hard4.5/10[40]
Select[41]

Coal Chamber received mixed reviews upon its release. Chronicles of Chaos writer Adrian Bromley compared it to Korn and Deftones, remarking that he had "a hard time telling these bands apart."[33] However, Bromley noted a difference with Coal Chamber was the band's strong sense of groove.[33] AllMusic's Steve Huey felt that the album was not original and lacked consistency and memorable riffs, but would still appeal to fans of alternative metal.[15] Johnathan Selzer of Melody Maker acknowledged that whilst Coal Chamber could be accused of being "copyists" of Korn and Sepultura, the elements taken from those artists (and others) were all "means to an end" and that the album ultimately "rocks".[42]

Kerrang!'s Mike Peake considered the album "the biggest, meanest, heaviest noise [...] in months", though noted it was "not perfect—it's hardly what you'd call new, and it does lack the production punch of something like Demanufacture".[37] Ollie of In Music We Trust singled out Dez Fafara as the album's star quality, calling him "a born frontman" and "proably what has made me so addicted to this album."[36] In an unfavourable review, Ian Winwood of Metal Hammer stated that the band were "lame" and "[sounded] like music that's being played on autopilot."[43] He concluded that whilst he could see the band "becoming huge, the one thing I can't ever see them being is any good. At all."[43][N 1] Tom Phillips of Select dismissed the album as "histrionic wank", and said that it had "less guts than a filleted flounder."[41]

Retrospective reviews remain similarly mixed. Reviewing the 2005 CD/DVD reissue for AllMusic, Johnny Loftus labelled "Loco", "Sway" and "Oddity" as "classics of a late-'90s L.A. metal scene that included Korn, Deftones, Fear Factory, and System of a Down." He goes on to say whilst "Coal Chamber couldn't keep it up for a whole album", criticizing Fafara's lyrics and its "unimaginative two-note guitar riffs", it was "still an interesting listen, especially in relation to what they did differently from their peers."[44] In a 2011 retrospective review for Kerrang!, Paul Travers wrote that although Coal Chamber ultimately did not experience the same level of commercial success as their contemporaries, "for a brief time, at the dawn of nu metal, they were right there at the vanguard of a brand new sound that was—whatever hindsight might have to say about it—big, brash and utterly exciting."[38] In 2014, Thomas Lacey gave the album an unfavourable retrospective review for Rock Sound, stating that the album bore "a deeply unsettling sense of awareness from the band, a coldness that stems from knowing damn well that the music they're producing fills a gap in the market, nothing more".[45] Lacey also criticized the track "Amir of the Desert", claiming it presents the band "[trying] their hand at some casual racism [...], complete with a 'comedy' indian accent that even the cast of Mrs. Brown's Boys would wince at."[45]

Accolades for Coal Chamber
Publication List Year Rank Ref.
Kerrang! 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 1998 99
[16]
666 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die! 2011 N/A
[38]
The 21 greatest nu-metal albums of all time 2020 15
[46]
LA Weekly The 10 Greatest Nu-Metal Albums 2016 9
[47]
Loudwire The 50 Best Nu-Metal Albums of All Time 2020 35
[48]
Metal Hammer Top 20 best metal albums of 1997 2020 N/A
[49]
The 50 best nu metal albums of all time 2022 23
[50]
Revolver 20 Essential Nu Metal albums 2021 N/A
[51]


Track listing[edit]

All lyrics are written by Dez Fafara; all music is written by Miguel Rascón, Rayna Foss and Mike Cox except where noted.[52]

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Loco" 4:15
2."Bradley" 3:04
3."Oddity" 3:19
4."Unspoiled" 2:59
5."Big Truck" 3:31
6."Sway" 3:35
7."First" 4:12
8."Maricon Puto" 0:46
9."I" 3:49
10."Clock" 2:59
11."My Frustration" 3:59
12."Amir of the Desert"
  • Rayna Foss
  • Mike Cox
0:44
13."Dreamtime" 3:43
14."Pig" 8:27
Total length:49:22

Special edition[edit]

A special edition of the album was released by Roadrunner in 2005. The package includes the original album with six bonus tracks along with a bonus DVD featuring the "Loco" music video and two live concerts. The concerts are live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles in 1996, which was included in Kerrang!'s 100 greatest gigs of all time,[54] and live at the Maritime Hall in San Francisco, 1999.

Bonus tracks on special edition[edit]

No.TitleLength
15."Headstones and the Walking Dead"3:27
16."Big Truck" (Hand-On-Wheel Mix)3:32
17."Pig" (Demo)3:21
18."Sway" (Demo)3:30
19."Unspoiled" (Demo)3:38
20."Loco" (Demo)3:38
Total length:70:28

Personnel[edit]

Personnel per liner notes.[52][55]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[56] Gold 500,000^

Release history[edit]

Release history for Coal Chamber
Reigon Label Format Date Catalog # Ref.
United States Roadrunner
February 11, 1997 RR-9913-2 [3]
United Kingdom March 17, 1997 [57]
Various CD + DVD September 20, 2005 168 618 118-2 [44]
Round Hill LP February 9, 2024 TRCR-113 [58]

References[edit]

Notes

  1. ^ Ian Winwood gave the album two stars out of five (). In the same space, it received different reviews and scores from three other Metal Hammer reviewers: Robyn Doreian (), Dan Silver () and Chris Ingham ().[43]

Citations

  1. ^ Weinstein, Deena (2015). Rock'n America: A Social and Cultural History. University of Toronto Press. (January 27, 2015)
  2. ^ "The 50 best nu metal albums of all time". April 2022. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "American album certifications – Coal Chamber – Coal Chamber". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Blabbermouth (November 19, 2002). "Coal Chamber Frontman Offers Update on Future Activities". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Turman, Katherine (2005). Coal Chamber: Coal Chamber CD/DVD Special Edition (booklet). Roadrunner Records. RR-8118-5.
  6. ^ "Coal Chamber's self-titled debut: 5 things you didn't know about 1997 nu-metal classic". Revolver. February 10, 2023. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Jaret (1998). "Interview with Dez from Coal Chamber". Metal on Metal Magazine. Archived from the original on December 5, 1998. Retrieved May 24, 2024. it was Ross Robinson who did Korn's production who brought us into the record label but Dino was also very supportive as well.
  8. ^ a b c d e Hefflon, Scott (April 1, 1997). "Coal Chamber – Interview". Lollipop. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d René, Sheila (December 19, 1996). "Coal Chamber: Q&A with Dez". mrtramp.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 1998. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d Arnopp 1997, p. 28.
  11. ^ Gorny, Stephen (July 1997). "Tap Dancing, The Bangles and Ozzfest: An interview with Rayna from Coal Chamber". The Melodia. Archived from the original on November 16, 1999. Retrieved June 3, 2024 – via members.aol.com/swgims.
  12. ^ "Coal Chamber Bio". mysti.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 1997. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Angel C (May 1998). "Coal Chamber". RockOnline. Archived from the original on June 14, 2000. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Wiederhorn & Turman 2013, p. 426.
  15. ^ a b c d Huey, Steve (n.d.). "Coal Chamber - Coal Chamber | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Fafara & Peake 1998.
  17. ^ "ShieldSquare Captcha". www.songfacts.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  18. ^ Alexander 1997.
  19. ^ a b Blake 1997.
  20. ^ "20 Years Ago: The First Ozzfest Kicks Off in Virginia". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c d e "Coal Chamber – Coal Chamber". Official Charts Company. March 29, 1997. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  22. ^ Anon. 1998a.
  23. ^ Anon. 1998b.
  24. ^ a b "Coal Chamber | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Anon. 1998c.
  26. ^ Blabbermouth (March 30, 2002). "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By Soundscan". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on October 30, 2002. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  27. ^ "Coal Chamber's Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives". Concertarchives.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  28. ^ "Coal Chamber's Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives". Concertarchives.org. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  29. ^ Anon. 1997b.
  30. ^ a b Prato, Greg (January 10, 2024). "Dez Fafara of DevilDriver and Coal Chamber". Songfacts. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  31. ^ Dome 1998.
  32. ^ a b "Loco – Coal Chamber". Official Charts Company. July 4, 1998. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  33. ^ a b c Bromley, Adrian (March 16, 1997). "CoC : Coal Chamber – Coal Chamber : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  34. ^ Popoff 2007.
  35. ^ Strong 2002.
  36. ^ a b Ollie (November–December 1997). "Coal Chamber: Coal Chamber". In Music We Trust. No. 3. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  37. ^ a b Peake 1997.
  38. ^ a b c Travers 2011.
  39. ^ Vollmer 1997.
  40. ^ "Coal Chamber". Rock Hard (in German). Vol. 118. February 25, 1997. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  41. ^ a b Phillips, Tom (April 1997). "New Albums". Select. EMAP. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk.
  42. ^ Selzer 1997.
  43. ^ a b c Winwood et al. 1997.
  44. ^ a b Loftus, Johnny (n.d.). "Coal Chamber [CD & DVD] – Coal Chamber | Release Info". AllMusic. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  45. ^ a b Lacey, Thomas (March 4, 2014). "Revisiting Records #2: Coal Chamber – 'Coal Chamber' – Blogs". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  46. ^ Law, Sam (June 17, 2020). "The 21 greatest nu-metal albums of all time – ranked". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  47. ^ Distefano, Alex (September 10, 2016). "The 10 Greatest Nu-Metal Albums". LA Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  48. ^ Lemeshow-Barooshian, Rae (January 1, 2020). "The 50 Best Nu-Metal Albums of All-Time". Loudwire. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  49. ^ "The Top 20 best metal albums of 1997". Metal Hammer. Future plc. December 2, 2020. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  50. ^ Hobson, Rich; Everley, Dave; Hammer, Metal; Alderslade, Merlin (April 1, 2022). "The 50 best nu metal albums of all time". Metal Hammer (loudersound). Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  51. ^ Revolver Staff (November 8, 2021). "20 Essential Nu-Metal Albums". Revolver. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  52. ^ a b Coal Chamber (1997). Coal Chamber (booklet). Roadrunner Records. RR-8863-2.
  53. ^ "Coal Chamber: (Title unknown) from Coal Chamber". HiddenSongs. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  54. ^ Kerrang! Archived December 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Kerrang! 100 greatest gigs of all time, cited August 3, 2008
  55. ^ Coal Chamber (2005). Coal Chamber (CD/DVD Special Edition) (booklet). Roadrunner Records. RR-8118-5.
  56. ^ "American album certifications – Coal Chamber – Coal Chamber". Recording Industry Association of America.
  57. ^ Anon. 1997a.
  58. ^ wookubus (January 20, 2024). "Coal Chamber's First Two Albums Set For New Limited Edition Vinyl Release". Theprp.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2024.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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