Chevelle - Sci-Fi Crimes
Rating
RIYL
ToolNickelback
Korn
Breaking Benjamin
Release Date
08/31/2009
Label
EpicTracklist
1 Sleep Apnea 3:522 Mexican Sun 4:16
3 Shameful Metaphors 4:22
4 Jars 3:20
5 Fell Into Your Shoes 5:07
6 Letter to a Thief 3:27
7 Highlands Apparation 4:08
8 Roswell 4:38
9 Interlewd 1:21
10 I Could Sleep Forever 4:26
11 This Circus 4:32
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If it's one thing Chevelle have always managed to avoid; it's falling into the hard rock / nu-metal genre's simplicity and genericness. While the band have been on a slow but steady decline since their breakthrough album, Wonder What's Next, their output has overall been decent, but with their 5th LP, Sci-Fi Crimes, the band seems to have dropped down very quickly into a hole of laziness and staleness.
Chevelle often get branded as 'Tool-lite', and while their music may be nowhere as complex, the band did used to channel the same amount of energy and passion as Tool, all topped off with Pete Loffler's drawn-out Manyard James Keenan-style vocals. While the Tool comparisons may have rung true previously, there's maybe only one or two slight instances which warrant that comparison on Sci-Fi Crimes. The Album opener “Sleep Apnea” is on a whole the most Tool-esque, but it's “Roswell's Speed” that's the real stand-out here. Featuring a breakdown/bridge of quasi-complex Tool-esque guitar atmosphere and clunky, meaty bass work, it really leaves you wondering why the band doesn't produce more music of this quality. Chevelle desperately need more songs and ideas of this essence, but sadly, the album goes on to feature the majority of tracks using similar sounding riffs, and a sometimes a dreaded, generic Nickleback-sounding guitar tone.
The aggression and emotion that the band channeled on Wonder What's Next was nothing short of phenomenal. The record seemed to be powered by raw fury and angst, and I don't know what was going on in the Pete Loeffler's life, but he sounded pissed – and so did the music. Here, the band sounds dull, flat, and uninspired, and Loeffler doesn't even try to feign some of his past fury. While the band's previous massive industrial-sounding riffs gave them an edge over the many other run-of-the-mill hard rock bands, they now seem to have been turned in for generic post-grunge ones; coming off sounding more like Nickelback riffs than Tool, and the few decent ideas here are ruined by passages of complete genericness. “Shameful Metaphors” is a perfect example of this. The band fritter between lighter Deftones-esque verses, and then, for the choruses, Pete stamps on the 'generic peddle' for the boring grungy chorus, ultimately ruining the song.
Chevelle seem hesitant to push their songwriting past anything further than simplistic, generic four minute slabs of hard rock, and it's a shame because Chevelle are capable of so much more as evidenced by previous material and the few stand-out moments scattered throughout this record. Perhaps I've come to expect too much from the band, and granted, Chevelle are still well ahead of their hard rock contemporaries, but with their current output, there doesn't seem to be anywhere else for the band to go but further down that deep, generic hard rock hole.
--Rich Taylor
Comments
Lehigh Valley, PA
People still listen to this band?
Minnesota
I do. And I actually thought that this album was pretty solid, despite it being probably Chevelle's weakest album to date.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Baton Rouge
I have to admit I haven't heard anything by this band since Wonder What's Next, except for the singles off each album, and none of those impressed me.
I think this is a really solid album, though, and the simplicity is one of the things that make it so fun to listen to. It's just good dumb fun that doesn't make you feel like a whore for having enjoyed it once the last song ends.
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Lehigh Valley, PA
Beh.
Coopersburg, PA
I never really got into Chevelle, always thought they were okay though. I heard some good things about this album a few weeks back and I'm still listening to it, it's just good solid hard rock. I'm curious to check out their older stuff now too.
Spokane, Washington
very solid album! on a steady decline since wonder what's next?...not in the slightest.
current listenings:
Of Virtue - "Heartsounds"
Capsule - "No Ghost"
Century - "Red Giant"
James Vincent McMorrow - "Early In The Morning"
Blind Pilot - "We Are The Tide"
San Antonio, Texas
Could not disagree more with this review, respectfully of course. While its not their best by any stretch of the imagination, it is as Nicholas pointed out "good solid hard rock". Also, the performance Pete delivers on "This Circus" and "Roswells Spell" is nothing short of impressive.
Leeds, England
It must just be me then :) Everybody else seems to be rating it favourably. I think I may be just expecting a little too much from them.
Milwaukee, WI
I'm guessing expectations might play a big factor... I was expecting the typical Chevelle album, a few good songs but nothing engaging. What I got was what I think is their best disc and their first that is solid track to track. I think this is a great disc, don't know what more could be expected from them.
Baton Rouge
Exactly
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
San Borja, Lima, Perú
I've been listening this more than I expected, great production I must say.