Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Grayslake, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Collection includes all studio albums and two live albums.

Inspired by the lurching riffs of Helmet and the soft/loud vocal dynamics of Tool, the Chicago-based trio Chevelle formed in 1995 with an aggressive, heavy sound. Comprised of brothers Sam (drums), Pete (vocals, guitar), and Joe Loeffler (bass), the band began playing parties and outdoor events, which quickly led to bookings at Chicago clubs when youngest member Joe was just 14 years old. In 1999, Chevelle released their Steve Albini-produced debut album, Point #1, on Squint Entertainment. Three years later – and following tours with bands like Filter, Sevendust, Powerman 5000, and Machine Head – the band had inked a deal with Epic and issued Wonder What's Next, released in August 2002. The album went platinum by the following summer, propelled in part by its second single, "Send the Pain Below," which became a number one hit on modern rock and mainstream radio. Main stage dates with the annual Ozzfest tour followed that summer, and 2003 brought a concert album, Live from the Road.

Chevelle returned in the fall of 2004 with their third full-length effort, This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In), and with it came another hit song, "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)." Joe parted ways with his brothers in July 2005, and though he was replaced on bass a month later by Dean Bernardini, Chevelle remained a family affair, since Bernardini was the siblings' brother-in-law. With the new member came a newfound energy and optimism that replaced the internal bickering of the past, and the guys carried that spirit into the recording of their next two albums, 2007's Vena Sera and 2009's Sci-Fi Crimes. The following year, the band celebrated its ten-year anniversary in the music business with a pair of live shows in Chicago, later released on the DVD Any Last Words. In 2011, Chevelle announced that they were taking a break from touring to head into the studio, eventually releasing their sixth album, Hats Off to the Bull, in the winter of that year.

Biography by Tracy Frey, Allmusic.com

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle's debut, Point #1, finds them collaborating with producer Steve Albini to create forceful, mercurial indie rock. Dynamic rhythms and melodies predominate on the album, and songs like "Open," "Dos," and "Blank Earth" combine delicate interludes with blasts of noise. In line with Chicago's ambitious music scene, Chevelle's challenging take on rock is also a rewarding one.

Review by Heather Phares, Allmusic.com

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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The title of the sophomore Chevelle disc is actually an apt question, as those following the group through the Chicago underground pondered what group would do on a sophomore disc that came with major-label backing and a move from noise-mensch Steve Albini to star-maker Garth Richardson at the production helm. However, any concerns they might have had are quickly allayed and, by the time the disc is over, forgotten about completely. The trio still reminds you of Tool, but unlike the cloning taking place by the unskilled likes of Earshot, Chevelle take the best part of Tool – the melodrama and occasional nods to Maynard Keenan's vocal style – and remove the pretension that the prog-metallers are often found to be indulging in. Chevelle than apply what is left within an indie rock mindset that comes through in spite of the slick production that, try as it might, doesn't allow Wonder What's Next to mimic what's on the radio. This doesn't mean that the disc is lacking good songs; quite the opposite, actually: "The Red," the first single, is a pulsating, emotional track built around a nifty bass riff and an excellent chorus; "Comfortable Liar" settles nicely into a post-Sabbath chug complete with superb percussion, and "Closure" is a power ballad that arm-wrestles between power and ballad with no clear winner, save for the listener. Chevelle managed to retain its credibility yet still put out 11 tracks that, while still catchy, offer uniqueness not often heard in more commercial fare, no mean feat.

Review by Brian O'Neill, Allmusic.com

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Live from the Road is the first live album released by American alternative metal band Chevelle, released November 11, 2003. It was recorded on Ozzfest 2003, where Chevelle served as a Main Stage act.

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle's 1999 debut delighted in darkening the spaces between quiet and jagged scrawl. Peter Loeffler's guitar periodically tore away from the rhythm section's steadying wires, effectively lessening the brotherly trio's reliance on old Tool albums for influence and pace. Then the boys signed with Epic, which naturally trashed the majority of the interesting noise in favor of amplifying Chevelle's Tool-light tendencies. Hit singles followed ("The Red," "Send the Pain Below"), so you can't fully fault the label. But it's that same sound trudging determinedly through This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In). "Get Some" and "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)" switch on a gravelly guitar conveyor, powering it with plodding bass and percussion, and Loeffler sings with hurt urgency over it, sounding exactly – unbelievably – like Maynard Keenan. Typical phrases singe the ends of his wrangling power-chord punctuations – "A black out/Touching new life"; "The panic makes remorse." The songs are strong dynamically, but sound predetermined – they don't separate from the general loud rock malaise. The same goes for the majority of This Type of Thinking. "Panic Prone" does revisit the softer contours of "Send the Pain," and "Another Know It All" lets the rhythm section mix it up a little, even if it just makes Chevelle sound like Korn. But for the most part – from "The Clincher" through "Emotional Drought" – This Type of Thinking is flatly mixed, lost in depression, and obsessed with rewriting "Sober" for a new generation of lank-haired misunderstoods.

Review by Johnny Loftus, Allmusic.com

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Despite Chevelle undergoing its first lineup change since the mid-'90s (trading out bassist brother Joe Loeffler for brother-in-law Dean Bernardini), not much else has been drastically altered in camp Chevelle. The loud/soft dynamic and angst-fueled vocals that nod heavily towards Tool, and which have always been the group's trademark, arrive in full force on their fourth album Vena Sera, but it's not enough to make the proceedings any more interesting than anything they've recorded in the past. Every song seems to be set up in the exact same manner; guitars lurch forward, diminish and eventually swell into choruses where Pete Loeffler's emotional vocals (ranging from shrieks to tuneful cries) take center-stage over a backdrop of steady yet dense rhythms. "Brainiac" and especially "Midnight to Midnight" take a noticeably heavier angle, the latter song running on a nice urgency that so many of Chevelle's other songs lack, instead choosing to lumber along in a murky sense of despair. First single "Well Enough Alone" emotes and then emotes in that way so perfect for the airwaves, and though it's a decent song – the opening shriek is especially nice – it more so highlights the frustrating aspect of Vena Sera. The album is good enough, but too much of it simply sounds like rewrites of songs from the band's past. "I Get It" has a relatively lighter underbelly than the rest, which is a nice change of pace, but it's ultimately too little, too late. However, Vena Sera probably won't disappoint fans, if for the sole fact that it basically sounds just like Chevelle's other albums, so that if they liked those, they'll like this one. But anyone looking for a little more, well, they'll be left looking.

Review by Corey Apar, Allmusic.com

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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You might not expect an injection of such lighthearted fare on a Chevelle album, but it certainly is no crime. In fact, after such blistering material on 2007's Vena Sera, it almost seemed proper to tackle less weighty subjects such as apparitions, conspiracy theories, and erratic sleeping conditions. Sci-Fi Crimes, the hard rock trio's fifth album, isn't so much a change of pace as it is a change in source material from which to draw the group's fiercely dynamic sound. Experiences in the lives of the band made it easy for lead man Pete Loeffler to boldly go in a new direction with his songwriting. Take "Highland's Apparition," for instance, which is based on a spooky occurrence at a haunted house, or "Roswell's Spell," inspired by a visit to the UFO Museum in New Mexico. Other songs are less off the wall and more right on target. First single "Jars" explores the down side of "going green" in typical Chevelle style. "Letter from a Thief" is perhaps the most personal tale on the album, written about an incident when the band's equipment was stolen during a tour stop. Let's just say the experience hasn't yet been forgiven and forgotten. This is most certainly the same band that draws frequent comparisons to Tool, with its crunchy guitar attack and Loeffler's unforgettable vocal delivery. But it's their ability to pull off such flippant tales with their characteristic punch that gives Sci-Fi Crimes a humanizing appeal not found on their previous records.

Review by Jared Johnson, Allmusic.com

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Recorded live at the Metro in Chicago in conjunction with the popular alternative metal outfit’s tenth anniversary, Any Last Words features 14 high-energy tracks, including the hit singles “Send the Pain Below,” “Jars,” “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along),” and “Letter from a Thief." The performances are crisply produced and tightly played before an audience of obvious fans. The remainder of the set is evenly balanced between the group’s four major-label studio albums that followed their Steve Albini-produced 1999 debut, Point #1. The collection also includes a 14-track DVD, which mirrors the audio version’s set list.

Review by James Christopher Monger, Allmusic.com

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle - Albums Collection 1999-2011 [8 CD + DVD5]

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Chevelle have always been an interesting product of the post-grunge era. Imagine if Tool had a clean-cut younger brother who, while bearing a strong family resemblance, went off and played ball for a state college instead of going off to art school before eventually getting lost at Burning Man. What’s made Chevelle such a surprise is that, rather than wither in the shadows of an influence that was also one of their contemporaries, they’ve managed to take their sound in their own direction and fully refine it on their sixth studio album, Hats Off to the Bull. Heavy and dramatic, the album is packed full of tightly coiled, muscular riffs, giving the album a controlled feeling more like a slow burn than an explosive, cathartic release. Chevelle always seem to be in control of the songs, which makes the album feel intense in a way that has an austere, stiff-upper-lip quality. This makes the big releases of pressure, like the title track “Hats Off to the Bull,” feel more earned than if Chevelle had just jammed every song full of breakdowns. All in all, Hats Off to the Bull is a finely crafted album from a band that has really grown into its own over the years, and definitely serves as a reminder that these guys are one of the best hard rock bands out there right now.

Review by Gregory Heaney, Allmusic.com