Music Review: Chimaira – The Infection

Vitals:

Name: Chimaira

Album: The Infection

Year: 2009

Label: Ferret

Genre: Metal/Metalcore

The Skinny

Strategic songwriting ability. Sheer power. Groove. Impressive guitar work. Consistent vocals. Energy. Change.

Highlights

“The Venom Inside” starts the album with an interestingly “different-for-Chimaira melodic” intro and subsequently crushes your face with a sledging power groove complete with trem dives. The chorus bitch slaps you into a derailed 6/8 time signature blast. A half-time feel similar riff follows. Back to intro to end. Badass.

“Frozen In Time” haunts your ear hole. Complete with creepy effects breakdown section.

“Coming Alive” is a classic Chimaira take on metal in my opinion. Straight forward and packed with plenty of room to head bang.

“Secrets of the Dead” is probably my favorite track on the album. Let me just say that any song that has a slow grinding chorus with a SONAR sound effect is pure ear candy lol. It’d be the perfect track for a Bioshock 2 opening sequence, or at least the chorus would be. Fantastic guitar work on this track. “They keep calling me back…”

“The Disappearing Sun” is an impressive demonstration of kick drum prowess. Fist pumping break down section. ‘Nuff said.

“Impending Doom” has to be my other favorite track. Melodic vocals and an eerie departure from the theme of the rest of the album. Great  strings/keyboard sampling going on. Nice approach to songwriting here. Solid.

“On Broken Glass” has a guitar solo.

“Destroy and Dominate” …classic. Not much to say here.

“The Heart of It All” is a perfect way to end this album. Nearly 15 minutes of instrumental ear candy. Great feel. Awesome.

Opinion

The Infection is the most complete release as a package from Chimaira since The Impossibility of Reason. It sounds as if they have matured as musicians, stepped outside their own “box” and wrote music they felt passionate about. It’s worth a listen, worth a purchase, and worth your time. If you like music with energy, this is it.

Recommend it? I’m certainly “Infected” by this album. Pun intended.

Replay Value: Extremely high!