Chimaira – The Infection

This is a big bet for Chimaira. I am refering to their new album called ”The Infection”, the fifth full length in their career. And it is a big bet for numerous reasons. Let’s take some things from the beginning first.

Chimaira were from their early days a band that was working really hard in order to achieve what they’ve become so far. A widely known uncompromising full metal act, whose live appearances are even more raw than their studio energy, that’s why they have gained a higher praise from fans all over the world. Also, this band always managed to achieve something not really common: every next release was a step forward and even better than each previous record.

Is this the deal with ”The Infection” also? Well… 50 – 50 i could say. What do i mean? Yes, it is a next step forward for the band, as it is the most different recording they have ever done (and they will ever do i think, i find it difficult to do something like that again) .

Here we have 10 songs based more on the groove of the band and not the ”in your face” attacks of the past. Unlike some mere parts on the album, the whole album consists of slow and mid – tempo parts, something we were not at all used to listen by the Americans from Cleveland. Tracks like ”Frozen In Time” or ”Destroy And Dominate” (which is my favorite and will be shot as a video) show the next level the band has reached. But here is where the difficult part comes. While each release was better than the previous, I am afraid I can’t say that this time… I should better say, just to warn you all, that you should give this album pretty good attention. It’s like listening to Slayer playing slow songs… Can you get used to it? Especially for a whole album? The good thing is that in my opinion, these songs will work better on a live situation. They are carefully structured and they can get a better feedback with a massive sound.

In conclusion, I think that this is a good album. They had to do something like that i guess, in order to reprogram theirselves. It is very pleasant they chose this moment of time, now that they belong to a new record company, Ferret Records. I doubted a lot if Roadrunner would be eager with such a result. It is my less favorite album of the band so far, but that doesn’t mean i didn’t enjoy it. If you get to listen the deluxe edition, you’ll find three more songs which have nothing to do with these ten of the album. But judging only the ones of the normal edition…