Coal Chamber
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| Coal Chamber | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Alternative metal Nu metal |
| Years active | 1994–2003 |
| Label(s) | Roadrunner |
| Associated acts | Devildriver, Glass Piñata, Butterfly Knife, Machine Gun Orchestra, She's in Pain |
| Former members | |
| Dez Fafara Miguel "Meegs" Rascón Nadja Peulen Mikey "Bug" Cox Rayna Foss-Rose John Thor |
|
Coal Chamber was an American alternative metal/nu metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2003.
Originally formed in 1994 when vocalist/lyricist Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel Rascón met through a classified ad and combined their preferred band names (Meegs like "Coal" and Dez preferred "Chamber"). Drummer Mike Cox and bassist Rayna Foss completed the Coal Chamber lineup.
Dino Cazares of Fear Factory championing a demo tape and Coal Chamber causing a huge local stir with gigs at The Roxy Theatre and the Whisky A Go Go eventually lead Roadrunner Records to offer to sign Coal Chamber in late 1994.
Fafara dropped out of the band quite suddenly due to disagreements about the band with his wife. In the spring of 1995 Dez reunited with Coal Chamber, ending his marriage but revitalizing the band. With a renewed sense of energy Coal Chamber was able to regain their deal with Roadrunner by the end of 1995.
In 1997 their debut self-titled album Coal Chamber was released. Though they toured very heavily supporting this album its mix of nu metal and goth rock imagery was not very successful.
Chamber Music followed two years later. Between the two releases bassist Rayna Foss had gotten married and become pregnant necessitating another bass player on tour; a role happily filled by Nadja Peulen.
Nadja continued playing bass for the recording of Coal Chamer's third album as Rayna chose to leave the band to raise Kayla Moray Rose. Dark Days was released in the spring of 2002.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Formation
The band gained a large following early in their career arguably because they were the first "darker" themed nu metal band with an image that had more in common with the goth subculture than hip hop culture.
[edit] Errata
Prior to Coal Chamber Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón formed the band She's in Pain in 1992.
[edit] Coal Chamber (1997–1998)
[edit] Chamber Music (1999–2001)
Chamber Music was released in late 1999 and took a step away from the nu metal image egendered in their prior release having instead a more Gothic Metal inspired feel. With the bit of commercial success Coal Chamber received after Chamber Music the band toured on headlining and festival tours. The band managed to catch the attention of Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne who became their manager. Coal Chamber later parted ways with Sharon over personal and creative differences, a theme which continued within the band causing them to take a break from touring and resulting in their non-participation in the Tattoo the Earth tour in 2000.
[edit] Dark Days/Dispansion (2002–2003)
The band followed up with their third album Dark Days in early 2002 to mixed reviews. Bassist Rayna Foss had left the band to raise her daughter shortly after the album was recorded; she was replaced by Nadja Peulen who had taken Foss-Rose's place during her pregnancy between the first two albums. Rayna had a falling out with frontman Dez Fafara saying that she and her husband had "found Christ" and would be leaving Coal Chamber for good.
In May 2002, it was announced that Coal Chamber had broken up after an on-stage altercation between Dez and Meegs during a show in Lubbock, Texas. They had been fighting verbally before the show and continued to fight on-stage with Meegs hitting Dez in the head with the headstock of his guitar. Dez announced "This is the last Coal Chamber show ever!" and stormed offstage. The band attempted to continue the show with Meegs singing vocals but soon stopped the show altogether. Mikey demolished his drumkit before storming offstage. The band managed to patch things up long enough for an appearance on "Last Call With Carson Daly" and a summer tour with American Head Charge, Lollipop Lust Kill, and Medication. These would be the last shows the band would ever play.
In October 2002, Mikey "Bug" Cox was fired after several personal disputes with both Fafara and guitarist Meegs Rascón. The official release on the Coal Chamber website stated that the band was looking for a new drummer, although all band activities had come to a standstill.
Late summer 2003 saw the release of a compilation album titled Giving the Devil His Due which included several demo tracks submitted by the band prior to their signing with Roadrunner Records in 1997 along with several alternate studio recordings and remixes of various tracks from their previous releases. Coal Chamber officially called it a day in 2003 shortly after lead vocalist Dez Fafara continued with his new band DevilDriver.
In 2004 The Best Of Coal Chamber was released.
In June 2005 Fafara stated that Coal Chamber's hiatus is permanent and will not be reforming at any time in the future. He has also described a Coal Chamber reformation as "like repeating the 4th Grade again".
In September 2007 Rascon stated that "you never know what the future brings".
[edit] Members
[edit] Main Members
- Dez Fafara - Vocals
- Miguel "Meegs" Rascón - Guitar
- Nadja Peulen - Bass
- Mikey "Bug" Cox - Drums
[edit] Former Members
- Rayna Foss - Bass
[edit] Discography[2]
[edit] Studio Albums
[edit] Compilations
[edit] After Coal Chamber
After the disbandment of Coal Chamber Fafara continued as vocalist of metal band DevilDriver, recording three albums: DevilDriver, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand, and The Last Kind Words.
Guitarist Meegs Rascon went on to form rock band "Glass Piñata", previously known as “Pinata”. The group has so far only released demos via their website.
Bassist Nadja Puelen created t-shirt company Cruel Tees sold online and through stores such as Hot Topic. She is currently selling her bass from the Chamber Music tour.
After taking 2 years off to recover from a car accident drummer Mikey "Bug" Cox joined forces with long time friend, producer of Coal Chamber's self titled début, and ORGY mastermind Jay Gordon. The band is called "Machine Gun Orchestra" and is currently in the studio working on their début album to be released in 2008.
[edit] References
- ^ Coal Chamber Biography. Allmusic. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
- ^ Coal Chamber Discography. Retrieved on March 9, 2008.
[edit] External links
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