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Chimaira ( ) is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology. Throughout its history, the band had numerous line-up changes, leaving vocalist Mark Hunter as the only constant member. The band dissolved in 2014, but announced a reunion in 2017 and a return in 2023 with most of the group's longtime members rejoined.
After a few practices, the four decided that the band needed to thicken their sound, and Ermlick recommended that Rob Arnold, a former bandmate from his time in Common Thread, could be recruited into the band as guitarist. Arnold's band at the time, Sanctum, had recently split, and he was available to join Chimaira. By 1999, Arnold joined the band soon after as lead guitarist, to which Hager was then moved to play rhythm.
The band recorded its first demo in January 1999. During the recording, Arnold recommended to Hunter and Hager that they replace Genaro with Arnold's former drummer Andols Herrick in the band Sanctum. After observing a cassette recording featuring Herrick's percussion, the band agreed to replace Genaro in favor of Herrick. Herrick then came along to the studio with the other four and recorded the drums for the demo the very next day.
The band spent much of 1999 doing various live shows around the United States, and during that year, Andrew Ermlick left the band to concentrate on his college studies and was replaced by Rob Lesniak.
The band recorded a second demo that year, and it began to receive widespread airplay on several college radio stations around the area. After landing a spot performing "Dead Inside" on the short-lived USA Network show Farmclub.com, Chimaira was signed to Roadrunner Records.
The band went on to sign with Roadrunner Records and quickly recorded its debut album Pass out of Existence in 2001 with Producer Mudrock. By this time, Jim LaMarca was now bassist, and Chris Spicuzza was handling all electronics duties. Shortly after the release of the album and the tour that was to follow, Jason Hager left the band when he discovered he was going to become a father. Matt DeVries, who also previously played in Ascension (with Hager), was recruited to take over as rhythm guitarist. Released October 2, 2001, Pass out of Existence would also feature a guest appearance from Deftones' guitarist Stephen Carpenter on the track "Rizzo". The band promoted the album with steady touring with bands like Machine Head, Fear Factory, Ill Nino and Kittie among others, and were even invited by Slayer to open for them on their North American tour in late 2001.
However, despite consistent touring and high expectations from the band, Roadrunner Records had very little faith in the release and did minimal promotion for it, which resulted in poor sales; about 44,000 were sold two years after the album was released. There were also instances of concerts with extremely low attendance, according to singer Mark Hunter. CHIMAIRA Vocalist Looks Back On People Disliking Pass Out Of Existence In addition, a portion of the band's fanbase reacted negatively to the album, partly because of its cleaner, more polished production compared to This Present Darkness. This era of the band was later reflected on by members as a particularly difficult time, especially at the beginning of their The Dehumanizing Process video.
Chimaira eventually welcomed Richard Evensand as its new drummer. Hailing from Sweden, Evensand was a part of Soilwork for a short time. Evensand's stay in Chimaira was relatively short-lived. Going on advice from Slayer guitarist Kerry King, Hunter contacted Kevin Talley, an experienced death metal drummer who had previously been in the bands Dying Fetus and Misery Index. With Talley on board, the band finished its remaining tour dates before returning home for some downtime. They soon began the writing and recording process for their next album. Songs from the album were featured on MythBusters for the episode "Talking to Plants".
The first single of the album "Secrets of the Dead" was released on March 3, 2009. The Infection was released worldwide on April 21, 2009, and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard 200. During several European tour dates supporting The Infection, Chimaira had Emil Werstler of DΓ₯Γ₯th filling in for Matt DeVries, as DeVries' girlfriend had their first child.
The 10th annual Chimaira Christmas show was held at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio on December 27, 2009. It was filmed for a live DVD titled Coming Alive, which was released in 2010.
In late 2010, bassist Jim LaMarca retired from the band. Chimaira released the following statement regarding his departure: "After a decade of good times and achievements, our friend and band mate Jim LaMarca bass has decided to retire from CHIMAIRA. We wish him nothing but the best as he settles in and starts a family. As for seeking a replacement ... we'll cross that bridge down the line. In the meantime, consider it 'business as usual' with the CHIMAIRA you know and love."
Chimaira finished recording their 6th album in March 2011, expected to be released in August 2011. Also in March, Chimaira released a cover of The Troggs' "Wild Thing" as a single on YouTube and iTunes, in response to the "Charlie Sheen phenomenon".
On April 5, 2011, keyboardist and programmer Chris Spicuzza announced he would be leaving the band (a decision he made in January), citing a "negative environment" and the general state of the music industry. He also announced his next project, a mobile gaming startup company called IRL Gaming. Spicuzza did not contribute to the new album.
On April 13, drummer Andols Herrick announced that he, too, would be leaving the band due to differences. He was asked to leave by the other members of the band. Andols has technically been out of the band since December 2010 (prior to Chimaira Christmas 11). It was not announced until April 2011, however. Herrick was asked to rejoin the band, but he declined. He has said he looks forward to moving on with other musical projects. He said that there is no bad blood between the band and himself and that they all remain friends. Herrick did not contribute to the new album. However, he was around during the time of the song-writing and assures the fans through his Facebook page that the new album is sounding pure as ever. On May 28, at Peabody's in Cleveland, OH, the new album was revealed to be titled The Age of Hell that was met with the debut live performance of the song "Trigger Finger", which will be included on the record.
The Age of Hell was released in the US on August 16, 2011. Frontman Mark Hunter states, "Words can't express what it took to create this album. We hope you love it as much as we do. Turn it up loud, this is Chimaira at its finest." The album was also released in the UK through Metal Hammer magazine. In November 2011, Mark Hunter released a statement stating that guitarists Matt DeVries and Rob Arnold are leaving Chimaira after Chimaira Christmas '11. He added that they are leaving for 'personal reasons'.
It was confirmed that Emil Werstler will be replacing Rob Arnold as the lead guitarist, meanwhile Matt Szlachta from Dirge Within and Jeremy Creamer from DΓ₯Γ₯th will be handling rhythm guitar and bass duties respectively.
On December 29, 2012, Chimaira Christmas 13 revealed a new song from the upcoming 2013 album, titled "I Despise". The same day an official teaser for the new album was added to YouTube, titled Chimaira 2013. On April 18, 2013, the band released a teaser video on their YouTube channel revealing the album title, Crown of Phantoms, and a release date, July 30, 2013.
On August 31, 2014, Emil Werstler departed to pursue a solo career. The rest of the band mutually decided to part ways.
On September 4, 2014, Mark Hunter announced the formal break-up of Chimaira.
On December 15, it was announced that drummer Andols Herrick would no longer be a part of the reunion show due to health issues, and that former Chimaira drummer Austin D'Amond would be his replacement.
The band announced performances for 2024 at Inkcarceration Fest, their first festival concert in 14 years, and Headbanger's Boat, headlined by Lamb of God.
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| + List of singles, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Album |
| + List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Album |
| + List of video albums ! scope="col" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" style="width:21em;" | Album details |
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