Coal Chamber | |
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 Coal Chamber in 2015 Clockwise from top left: Fafara, Rascón, Cox, Peulen | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | She's in Pain (1992–1993) |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels |
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| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | coalchamberofficial |
Coal Chamber is an Americannu metal band formed byDez Fafara and Meegs Rascón in Los Angeles in 1992, initially under the name She's in Pain.[1] The original lineup also consisted of bassist Rayna Foss and drummer Jon Tor. Mike Cox replaced Tor on drums in 1995, and the Coal Chamber lineup was complete. After signing toRoadrunner Records, they released their debut album,Coal Chamber, in 1997.
Chamber Music followed two years later and featured the band's only charting single in the US, a cover ofPeter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey", featuringOzzy Osbourne as a guest vocalist. Their third album,Dark Days, was released in the spring of 2002. Nadja Peulen temporarily replaced Foss on bass for touring commitments, before joining on a permanent basis in 2002. Coal Chamber disbanded in 2003, after ten years together, and then reunited in 2011, with the lineup of Fafara, Cox, and Rascón, along with Chela Rhea Harper on bass.[1] Peulen rejoined the band on bass in 2013, and Coal Chamber released their fourth album,Rivals, in 2015, before disbanding again in 2016. They then reunited a second time in 2022.[2]
Coal Chamber was originally formed in 1992 under the name She's in Pain by vocalist Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascón,[3] based on a mutual love forthe Sisters of Mercy.[4] After a few shows, they decided to change the band's lineup, and they adopted their present name in 1993.[5] Bassist Rayna Foss was recruited through a newspaper ad.[6] According to Foss, the band at the time was named "Coal", while Rascón wanted to name it "Chamber", and they ended up combining the two words.[6] The band had two drummers in the two-and-a-half years prior to their signing with a label, the longest-lasting being John Tor.[3]
In late 1994,Dino Cazares ofFear Factory championed a demo tape by Coal Chamber, causing a huge local stir with gigs atthe Roxy Theatre andWhisky a Go Go, eventually leadingRoadrunner Records to offer the band a contract.[7] Fafara dropped out quite suddenly due to disagreements with his wife about the band. In early 1995, he reunited with Coal Chamber, which ended his marriage but revitalized the band.[7] With a renewed sense of energy, Coal Chamber was able to regain their deal with Roadrunner, which they signed in December 1995.[8] A few weeks prior, John Tor was fired for "constantly fighting" with Rascón, per Fafara.[3] Around the same time, they auditioned Mikey Cox and his brother, hiring the former as their new drummer.[3]
In 1996, Coal Chamber played at the firstOzzfest. The band managed to catch the attention ofOzzy Osbourne's wife,Sharon, who became their manager. They recorded their first album,Coal Chamber, which was released on February 11, 1997.[7] The record produced one single and a video, "Loco", directed by Nathan "Karma" Cox. The video was included as an extra after the ending credits of Dee Snider's filmStrangeland. The band also recorded an exclusive song for the soundtrack, titled "Not Living". The album only sold 844 copies in its first week; at its peak, it was selling 5,000 copies per week.[9] On December 21, 1999, it was certified Gold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying over 500,000 copies sold.[10]
In 1997, the band toured Europe withMachine Head,[7]Napalm Death, andSkinlab, including a show at the Dynamo Festival in the Netherlands. Coal Chamber also supportedPantera on tour from September through December 1997, along withAnthrax. Also, in 1997 and 1998, the band opened forMegadeth during theCryptic Writings tour.
In September 1999, Coal Chamber released its second album,Chamber Music. Prior to its publication, it was dubbed one of the most anticipated albums of the year byAlternative Press.[11][12] The album saw the band experiment with their sound, placing a greater emphasis on harmonies and symphonic qualities.[13][14] According toAlternative Press, the record was "one of the few instances where a band lumped into the whole nü-metal phylum sought to challenge their audience."[13]Chamber Music sold 48,000 copies in it first week and debuted at number 22 on theBillboard 200 chart,[15] while its lead single, a cover ofPeter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey", featuringOzzy Osbourne, gave the band their first radio hit.[16] Despite this, the album received mixed reviews from critics and did not sell as well as their debut,[17] with only 272,000 copies sold by 2002.[18] According to Cox, "A lot of our fans hated [the] album, after not getting more of the same as the first one. The second MTV played our video, that's it, they said we weresellouts."[19] Fafara recognized that that record's direction was not well-received by the band's fanbase but did not view it as a failure due to its initial positive reception.[17]
Coal Chamber embarked on headlining and festival tours in support of the album.[20] That year, the band took part inInsane Clown Posse'sAmazing Jeckel Brothers Tour, along withBiohazard,Krayzie Bone,Twiztid, andMindless Self Indulgence.[21] While Biohazard, Mindless Self Indulgence, Krayzie Bone, and Twiztid were well received by audiences,[21] Coal Chamber was not. ICP fans were not purchasing tickets, as they did not like the band.[21] For the three shows that Coal Chamber played, there were multiple ticket refunds.[21] ICP memberViolent J and his brother, Rob, made the decision to eliminate Coal Chamber from the tour. After doing so, there were no ticket refunds for the remaining tour dates.[21] ICP claimed that Coal Chamber had been removed due to equipment problems but later revealed the true reason for their actions onThe Howard Stern Show, on August 19, 1999.[21] On air, Osbourne, who also appeared as a guest, informed Bruce and Utsler that Coal Chamber filed a lawsuit forbreach of contract.[22] Between August and December 1999, Nadja Peulen filled in on bass while Rayna Foss went onmaternity leave.[23][24] Foss returned to the band in January 2000.[25]
On March 10, 2000, it was announced that Coal Chamber had amicably parted ways with Sharon Osbourne Management.[26] Rascón said that the band's relationship with Osbourne had "run its course and we needed to find another point of view".[27] Conversely, Fafara claimed that the other members of Coal Chamber had met up in a hotel—alleging some members had been "up for four or five days straight onmeth"—and fired Osbourne without consulting him.[27] He believes that this cost the band their only "good shot in the [music] business".[27] On March 29, 2000, the band signed with Left Bank Management.[28] Having grown exhausted from being on the road together for five years,[13] Coal Chamber abruptly ended touring in support ofChamber Music in July 2000 and dropped off theTattoo the Earth tour a week before it was due to begin,[29] ostensibly to begin work on new material.[13][30] The band members did not communicate with one another for a year,[13] until Fafara and Rascón reconnected to work on a song withMötley Crüe bassistNikki Sixx.[17]
Between May and September 2001, Coal Chamber recorded their third album,Dark Days, with producer Ross Hogarth.[31][32] The recording sessions were marked with high drug use and tensions between Fafara and Rascón, the latter of which informed the album's tone and some of its lyrics.[13][33] A week after recording concluded, Foss left the band to raise her daughter, and Peulen was brought back as her official replacement;[17] Foss's departure was announced in January 2002.[34][35]
Dark Days was issued on May 6, 2002,[17] to mixed reviews. The album had sold 200,000 copies by December 2003.[36] Prior to its release, Coal Chamber joined theJägermeister tour across the United States, which commenced on March 8.[37] On April 17, Fafara and Rascón got into an onstage altercation during a show inLubbock, Texas.[38] Tensions between the two were high, and they had been fighting before the show.[38][39] During the first song, Rascón stabbed Fafara with the headstock of his guitar, after which they began fighting.[27][38] Fafara then announced to the audience, "This is the last Coal Chamber show ever!" and stormed offstage.[38][27] Coal Chamber attempted to continue the show with Rascón on vocals but soon stopped altogether after two more songs; Cox demolished his drumkit before storming offstage.[38] Fafara and Rascón exchanged further blows after the show when the latter returned to the band's tour bus.[27] Two days after the concert, Coal Chamber dropped off the Jägermeister tour.[40] On May 15, 2002, the band made their debut appearance on television, performing "Fiend" onLast Call with Carson Daly.[13][41] In June and July 2002, they embarked on a summer tour of the United States withAmerican Head Charge,Lollipop Lust Kill, and Medication.[39][42][43] For the duration of the tour, Fafara and Rascón traveled in separate tour buses.[44]
In August 2002, Fafara formed the band Deathride, later known asDevilDriver.[45][46] In September 2002, he denied that Coal Chamber was breaking up.[47] In October 2002, Coal Chamber parted ways with their management and Cox.[48] In May 2003, Peulen said that the band would be releasing aB-sides compilation but that there was no new drummer or album on the horizon.[49] In July, Rascón confirmed that Coal Chamber had split up.[50] Fafara attributed the split primarily to the band's escalating drug use (in particular with Rascón and Cox),[51] stating that he did not want to help fund their drug habits.[52][53] He also mentioned creative and business differences.[54] A month after the band's split, a compilation album, titledGiving the Devil His Due, was released, which included several demo tracks submitted by Coal Chamber prior to their signing with Roadrunner Records in 1997, along with alternative studio recordings and remixes of various tracks from their previous albums.[55][56]
In August 2004, Roadrunner Records releasedThe Best of Coal Chamber. In June 2005, Fafara stated that Coal Chamber's break was permanent and they would not be reforming. He also described a reformation as "like asking someone if they would ever want to go back and repeat the third and fourth grades after they're already done with high school".[57]
Fafara continued as vocalist of the metal band DevilDriver, recording seven albums:DevilDriver,The Fury of Our Maker's Hand,The Last Kind Words,Pray for Villains,Beast,Winter Kills, andTrust No One. He is the only member of Coal Chamber to release an album after the disbandment. Bass guitarist Nadja Puelen created the t-shirt company CruelTees. After taking two years off to recover from a car accident, drummer Mikey "Bug" Cox joined forces with his longtime friend andOrgy member Jay Gordon—and the producer of Coal Chamber's first album - to form Machine Gun Orchestra. Guitarist Meegs Rascón formed the rock band Glass Piñata, previously known as Piñata. The group released a few demos on their website, and faced several line-up changes before eventually disbanding. Following Glass Piñata, Rascón joined the Orange County rock/electro band NEO GEO in mid-2009, although he later left the band in 2010.[citation needed]
Fafara and Rascón settled their differences on October 24, 2008, with Rascón joining DevilDriver on stage at the Glasshouse inPomona, California, to play "Loco".[citation needed]
In September 2009, it was announced that Peulen and Cox had joined forces to form an unnamed band.[58] They were seeking a vocalist and guitarist to complete the lineup.
In September 2010, Rascón and Cox joined together in a post-punk band called We Are the Riot.[59]
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In September 2011, Fafara, Cox, and Rascón officially reformed the band with bass guitarist Chela Rhea Harper, to play theSoundwave festival in Australia. In October 2012, Fafara stated that the band were "taking it slow", partly due to his commitments withDevilDriver, but he also revealed that they had begun writing new material.[60] The band later performed at Download 2013 and toured withSevendust,Lacuna Coil, andStolen Babies, with performances at Rock Am Ring, Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel,[61] and Nova Rock festival.[62]
Nadja Peulen officially reunited with the band in October 2013, and they signed toNapalm Records the following year, as they continued to work on a new album.[63] This was completed in December 2014. In February 2015, Coal Chamber revealed that the album's title wasRivals. They premiered the song "I.O.U. Nothing" online in March, and released a lyric video for "Suffer in Silence", which featuresAl Jourgensen, the following month. The album was released on May 19, 2015, and was their first studio album in 13 years, as well as their first to be released byNapalm Records.[64]
In May 2016, Fafara confirmed during an interview withBlunt magazine that Coal Chamber was on indefinite hiatus, stating that due to the current success of his other band DevilDriver, Coal Chamber "has no place in my life whatsoever at this point."[65] In June 2017, Fafara explained that he would start performing Coal Chamber songs with DevilDriver, coming to the realization that Coal Chamber would probably never tour or make music ever again.[66] He then went on to say that the band is "done forever".[67] In July 2018, Fafara officially announced that Coal Chamber was not coming back.[68]In 2020, Fafara spoke about the band's status during an interview with Metal Hammer. When asked about a possible reunion, Fafara stated: "I'm not gonna say no, because we've all spoken", adding, "The main thing for me is that the relationship is all good after numerous fallouts in the beginning and after some stuff went horribly wrong when we got back together to release [2015 comeback album]Rivals. The vibe in that camp is very cool at the moment, and we all have each other's backs. I wouldn't put it past us, but right now I'm definitely concentrating on Devildriver".[69]
Coal Chamber announced their second reunion in November 2022 as well as their scheduled appearance at the 2023 Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2] According to Fafara, a factor in the reunion was his certainty of dying from aCOVID-19 infection, which prompted his wife to contact the rest of the band.[70] He later indicated the possibility of new music down the line, saying, "I realized that any problem we've ever had is gone".[71]
The band embarked on a US tour in 2023 and a short tour of Australia in 2024. They were slated to begin touring again in 2025, but plans were postponed due to Fafara's health issues.[72]
Coal Chamber is most commonly categorized asnu metal[73][74][75][76] oralternative metal.[1][64] Theirself-titled album falls into the first category.[77] Elements ofhip hop andheavy metal are featured throughout the album.[78] Coal Chamber's second album,Chamber Music, is also mainly nu metal,[1] with elements of other genres such asgothic rock,[1]industrial, andelectronic music.[79]Rivals hasgroove metal influences[80][81][82] and moves away from their gothic-influenced older sound.[83] Coal Chamber have also described their sound as "spookycore", a term invented by the band's fans.[9][23][84][85][86] In a 2002 interview, Fafara said of the band's "spookycore" label:
The kids came up with it first because we started gettin' a lot of comparisons toKorn and stuff. Which is fine. They're a great band. But I think the kids wanted to say "No, Coal Chamber is totally different than that." So they started comin' up with "Spooky-core" and we ran with it. We were like "Yeah! That's what we are." I mean if you put it into essence, we're a dark rock-n-roll band. It's almost like sayin' the same thing. "Spooky-Core." "Dark Rock-n-Roll." You know what I mean? I started thinkin' about it like that and was like "Whoa! These kids know what they're doin'." If someone's gonna coin it [your music], who better than the fans?[84]
The band's influences includeBad Brains,[87]Bauhaus,[88]Black Sabbath,[89]the Cure,[87][89][90]Dead or Alive,[89]Duran Duran,[87]Helmet,[91]Jane's Addiction,[92]Kiss,[89]Metallica,[87][89]the Sisters of Mercy,[90]Slayer,[89]Tori Amos,[89] andWhite Zombie.[91]
Coal Chamber is considered to be one of the bands that popularized and defined the nu metal sound.Alternative Press wrote that "Nü metal would never have left the starting gates if it weren't for the achievements of Coal Chamber [...] 'Loco' and 'Fiend' paved the way for the darker side of nü metal to step into the limelight beyond the lifespan of Coal Chamber themselves."[93]Revolver credited the band for introducing gothic and industrial influences into the look of nu metal, whichKittie andDope would later adopt.[94] Likewise,Kerrang! said that the band "pre-empted the arrival of outfits likeSlipknot, marrying feelings of personal anguish to slab-heavy catharsis, then filtering the lot through an absurdist nightmare lens."[95] The band's 1997 debut is generally regarded as one of the greatest albums of the nu metal genre, being featured in lists byKerrang!,[95]Metal Hammer,[96][97]LA Weekly,[98]Loudwire,[99] andRevolver.[100]
At the same time, Coal Chamber have been criticized for their image and similarities to Korn, with the latter stemming largely from their debut album.[19][97][101][102] TheHouston Press noted in 2000 that although both Korn and Coal Chamber rose out of the same scene, and as such, shared the same audiences and sound, the latter was perceived as being derivative of Korn, since the former group had achieved success first.[19] By 1999, the band was considered "a pariah of the metal community", according toCMJ New Music Monthly.[101] In 2009, Dayal Patterson ofThe Quietus called Coal Chamber "something of an icon for nu metal's limitations", while describing their legacy as "a collection of one-idea songs and a portfolio of truly laughable photos."[102] In their bookA History of Heavy Metal (2017),Andrew O'Neill dismissed Coal Chamber as "a distinctly forgettable, cartoonish band, taking all the childish aspects of Korn and throwing away the real emotion and aggression."[103] RoadrunnerA&R headMonte Conner said that although the band received "some grief" due to their similarities to Korn, he believed they were "the first to follow [them]—I would say that Coal Chamber's first record was the second nu metal record ever to come out."[9][104]
Current[edit]
| Past[edit]
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| Coal Chamber discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 4 |
| Compilation albums | 3 |
| Singles | 9 |
| Music videos | 5 |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [105] | US Heat. [106] | AUS [107][108] | FIN [109] | FRA [110] | GER [111] | NLD [112] | NZ [113] | UK [114] | ||||
| Coal Chamber |
| — | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 76 |
| |
| Chamber Music |
| 22 | — | 29 | 18 | 70 | 70 | 49 | 22 | 21 |
| |
| Dark Days |
| 34 | — | 61 | — | 69 | 61 | — | — | 43 |
| |
| Rivals |
| 82 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||||||||||
| Title | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Giving the Devil His Due | August 19, 2003 | Roadrunner |
| The Best of Coal Chamber | August 9, 2004 | |
| The Complete Roadrunner Collection (1997–2003) | March 12, 2013 | |
| Loco | July 2023[115] | Woah Dad! |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Main. [116] | UK [114] | |||
| 1997 | "Loco" | — | 80 | Coal Chamber |
| "Big Truck" | — | — | ||
| 1998 | "Sway" | — | — | |
| 1999 | "Not Living" | — | — | Chamber Music |
| "Shock the Monkey" (featuringOzzy Osbourne) | 26 | 83 | ||
| "Tyler's Song" | — | — | ||
| "Notion" | — | — | ||
| 2002 | "Fiend" | — | — | Dark Days |
| 2015 | "I.O.U. Nothing" | — | — | Rivals |
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||
| Year | Song | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Loco" | Nathan Cox |
| 1999 | "Shock the Monkey" (featuring Ozzy Osbourne) | Dean Karr |
| 2002 | "Fiend" | P. R. Brown |
| 2015 | "I.O.U. Nothing" | |
| "Rivals" |
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