The Age Of Hell

Chimaira have had a rough time; it seemed as though the world was at their feet in the wake of their zeitgeist grabbing second album The Impossibility Of Reason which was released in 2003, but after that album had passed the press never kept up the same level of interest in the band.

In 2009; Chimaira released possibly their strongest album to date, `The Infection,' and no one seemed to actually notice outside a circle of existing fans. One would frequently hear people say things like they though Chimaira had broke up, or that they only made one good album anyway.

This was quite unfair as Chimaira have been one of the most consistent bands in the entire genre; continually churning out extremely strong albums, constantly improving as musicians and songwriters and genuinely putting in huge amounts of effort live and in relations with their fans.

Now it is 2011 and the band have lost three members (Jim La Marca, Chris Spicuzza and Andols Herrick) but returned to the studio with long time collaborator Ben Schigel, who has both produced the album and performed as the drummer as well to create their sixth studio album, The Age Of Hell.

As always vocalist Mark Hunter and lead guitarist Rob Arnold form the core songwriting unit, so the album still retains the overall Chimaira sound. Rob's guitar style anchors the album; Mark's vocal range has always expanded slightly with each new record and The Age Of Hell adds a few new dimensions to the man's repertoire.

The songs are all a lot shorter and more direct than on previous Chimaira albums and mostly faster than on The Infection, which focused more on the band's groove side, you almost get the sense that the band seem to have made a concerted effort not to repeat The Infection.

The Age Of Hell at times seems as though it is trying to evoke The Impossibility Of Reason, for example on the pre-released `Trigger Finger,' and "Born in Blood" (featuring Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel on guest vocals,) which feature a few riffs here and there that sound a lot like "Power Trip," "Pure Hatred," or "Cleansation."

Also like their popular 2003 record, the album closes with a grand, guitar solo filled instrumental track. Some fans will see this as a good thing and others may view it as a cynical move to counteract waning public interest.

The Age Of Hell isn't all rooted in the past however; tracks like `Clockwork,' `Powerless,' and `Year Of The Snake,' add new dimensions to Chimaira's sound, be they Pink Floyd style ambient moments, or just fresh takes on metalcore that you haven't heard before.

The overall quality of songwriting and musicianship on is phenomenal and the album is a great listen, full of creative riffs, interesting solos and a drumming performance that fits the band so well you wouldn't know Andols had left if no one told you.

If you are one of the people who didn't give up on the band, you will find The Age Of Hell to be another strong Chimaira album that still features enough of what made the band great and that has a unique place within the band's overall catalogue.

Overall, The Age Of Hell is a good album which I hope reignites a wider interest in Chimaira, who really deserve it based on the effort and quality they put into touring, any of their products and how they interact with the fans.

i myself am a loyal chimaira fan, i have every album theyve done in special edition where available
the first albums okay 2 and 3 are brilliant and brutal ressurection has good tracks and a couple that i felt would be better not on the album. the infection was okay but it didnt have anything particulary special about it.
then you have the age of hell there are 4 or 5 brilliantly brutal tracks on it that are an instant win for me the vocalist from whitechapel makes an apperance on born in blood which is my favourite track and they even did a cover of wild thing dedicated to charlie sheen for his recent media attention which has gained him a ledgendary status with anyone with a sense of humour :-P
the rest of the album is good it took a bit of time to grow on me which is why i gave it four stars its not like impossibility of reason that didnt leave my cd player for 6 months or the self titled that plauged me while i was vunerable and extremley anxiety ridden but its just so brutal that i gopt through it and now love it.
the special edition includes 3 bonus tracks (scum of the earth, your days are numbered, and wild thing) and a dvd which is interesting for die hard fans as it goes into the goings on since half the band left and you meet the new guys. so all in all im happy i bought this and i honestly dont regret buying this editionb when i couldve got a lesser edition free with metal hammer

Chimaira have been a band that I have always known ever since their second album, 'The Possbility of Reason' released through Roadrunner Records in 2003. Two years later Mark Hunter (vocalist) featured on the 'Roadruner United: All Star Sessions' for the 25th Anniversary of Roadrunner Records, Mark doing vocals on a track called 'The Enemy' (Personally, I thought it was sublime)

Since then Chimaira have fallen off of my preverbial musical spectrum, only taking notice of them two years ago when they released 'The Infection' through Nuclear Blast records. You could say I have always known about Chimaira but never enough to warrant purchase of any their records.

Thanks to Gentlegiantprog "Kingcrimsonprog" I became interested in Chimaira after hearing the good things he said about this, and thus I began to check it out. Once again for a while they were in my sights. Yesterday I picked up from my local record store and I listened to the whole album, back to front, front to back. Depending on which version you get - either CD/DVD Deluxe Edition or just the normal version - on the CD/DVD there is a couple of extra tracks and a cover of "Wild Thing". In hindsight, I did obviously not know that Chimaira themselves had dropped a few members between the releases of 'The Infection' and 'The Age of Hell'

(Admittedly I may add a paragraph about the DVD as I only watched about half an hour of it but it's interesting all the same)

The record itself is really good and you don't get really get it until the second or third listen through.

1. the age of hell - a really great opening track that lets you know from the get-go what this record is about
2. clockwork - a good song and i like the way it starts off but i would say one of the more weaker songs on the album
3. losing my mind - a really great and keeping up with the momentum
4. time is running out - definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album
5. year of the snake - one of the more highlight tracks on the album and one of the most popular, also i think it's the album's first single
6. beyond the grave - a more slower number this song but it's still good
7. born in blood - a more thrashy number and a great song
8. Stoma - a short track that only lasts about minute long which leads into...
9. powerless - a great song that sounds a lot like some of the songs off of 'Impossibility of Reason'
10. Trigger - again, one of my more favourite tracks on the album
11. Scapegoat - this song is great and again a real grower on you
12. Samsara - again this is a lot like 'Impossiblity of Reason' where they finish with an instrumental piece with lots of solos and lead guitar, possibly a guitarist's wet dream

**This is where the normal edition ends**

13. Scum of the earth - a great song that's flat out in every way
14. Your days are numbered - somehow i feel if the running order has been to well thought out, as this in an awesome song to end on.
15. Wild Thing (bonus track cover) - this is a little bonus throw and it's a great cover, using both clean and screaming vocals of Mark.

However, there is a slight, slight niggle with the packaging. That is the actual booklet itself. You open it up and it has the two DVDs and the booklet, very nice. But the thing about the booklet is as you open it out, it opens up lengthways, but in the middle there's artwork which actually distorts the lyrics and you can't read. Possibly they're trying to say "listen to the music" so I get that.

So overall a really great album and I think Chimaira fans will love and non-Chimaria fans (possibly like myself) will be swayed by the 4- and 5-star reviews enough to actually buy it. Anyone wise enough should check it out.

A total 5/5 stars.