"WE GOT COCKY, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASY" - CHIMAIRA'S MARK HUNTER ON LATEST ALBUM
by Don Sill
"At first we had some doubts about what we were doing but then we got out of the rut and then things began moving forward," said Chimaira front man, Mark Hunter who along with guitarist, Rob Arnold and super-producer- Colin Richardson, was busy in the U.K. mixing their latest album, CHIMAIRA on Roadrunner Records. "Everything is going really good now. It's tedious, but good. [Laughs]"
The "rut" Hunter describes began just after Chimaira ended a rather tedious marathon which consisted of a two-year road trek in support of their most successful album, THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF REASON which clocked 330 shows in 21 countries.
For two solid years Hunter and his mates played to thousand of amazing fans week after week including a headlining tour with Lamb Of God, a run with Ozzfest 2003, the Jagermeister Spring 2004; a co-headlining gig with Machine Head on the Road Rage tour and a spate of European festivals. Needless to say the band was on top of their game and when the time came to record another album Hunter and company assumed they would easily hop into the studio and bang out a new album within a month…Welcome to the "rut."
"We got cocky. We thought it would be easy," admits Hunter with a laugh. In fact there would be nothing easy about this album at all. After a few days of working on their new music the front man realized that he had completely underestimated the process and as a result tensions ran high in the practice studio. Soon the band concluded that what they needed was some time apart. "We were constantly together for so long and it just kinda felt like nobody wanted to be in the same room with each other," says the vocalist, "There was some tension and we all needed a break. I didn't go to practice for like three weeks."
After a few weeks of much needed R&R Hunter and his mates regrouped, refocused and began writing their third album last October. "We thought we'd get this done in a month and here we are seven months later, [Laughs]." What was passed off as "easy' ultimately became their biggest challenge.
But Chimaira persevered, climbed from their "rut" and created an album that truly refuses to fit any stylistic format. "We took a different approach on this record," explained Hunter. "At first we were kinda concerned about what people would think but then after we all took time off and came back we just didn't give a shit about what was going on with other bands and we didn't care about anything else that we've already done in the past."
CHIMAIRA makes it clear that not only do they not give a shit about past trends but the band has evolved and are now far ahead of the curve. "Our main goal was not to copy ourselves," continued the front man. "We liked a lot of the things we did on THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF REASON and we knew we had some areas to strengthen, but the main thing we wanted to do was take away every restraint we put on ourselves and toss them right out the window."
By throwing past restraints out the window the Cleveland sextet have fine tuned and honed their style so deftly, that this album truly represents everything Chimaira were, everything Chimaira are, and everything Chimaira are destined to become. "This album is everything that you love about Chimaira and multiply that by ten," gushed Hunter. "We broke out of our shell with this one."
Time proved to be of the essence as it gave the band time to crack from their shell and emerged at their most musical and most intimidating. Rob Arnold's guitar solos have matured as did Chris Spicuzza's ambient/electronic element which added an additional dynamic to Chimaira's overall sound. Says Hunter, "The biggest compliment I got was after we did a live show and played one of the new songs a fan came up to me and said that when he heard the new song he knew immediately that it was a Chimaira song- and that is exactly what we were trying to achieve. We wanted to evolve but still have a signature sound. We really wanted to achieve that."
From sinking into a "rut" to achieving their goals- that is Chimaira. Hunter along with Matt DeVries- Guitars; Rob Arnold Guitars; Jim LaMarca Bass; Chris Spicuzza - Electronics and Kevin Talley Drums have built a career from battling the odds and coming out victorious every time.
Catch Chimaira this summer when they join the Sounds Of The Underground tour with Devil Driver, Poison The Well, Lamb Of God and many more metal and hardcore acts. For more info log to Chimaira's official website - http://www.chimaira.com
