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Being miserable never sounded
better. From the first pummeling chord to the last vicious riff it
is clear that Cleveland's Chimaira is on a mission of destruction
and anarchy and is anything but happy. "Sure there are times where
I feel good about living and happy with what I am doing in life, but
most of the time I am not in a very good mood." Says vocalist Mark
Hunter. With songs such as "Dead Inside," "Severed" and "Painting
the White to Grey" it is clear that this is not cheery music. But,
this band is capable of bringing you into a dark place and making
you feel miserable while enjoying it at the same time. "Everything
I have gone through in life, past or present, does not matter. When
I write I am always in a place where I should not be if I want to
have a smile on my face." The word Chimaira, pronounced, (kim-ear-uh),
is derived from the monster in Ancient Greek mythology, the Chimaera.
Made up of three lethal-parts- the head of a lion, the body of a goat
and the tail of a dragon. According to the myth, the Chimaera was
said to breathe fire and fear into the hearts of many and so seemed
the perfect name for this crass group of metal junkies. Chimaira began
in 1998 by Jason Hager whose vision to start an intense new metal
band led him to Mark Hunter, previously of Cleveland's Skipline. Mark's
vocal strengths and abilities as a songwriter made him an easy choice
and together the two knew they had something special. After a great
deal of trial and error the band eventually formed into be what it
is today: Mark Hunter (vocals), Rob Arnold and Jason Hager (guitarists),
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Andols
Herrick (drummer), Jim LaMarca (bass), and Chris Spicuzza (electronics).
"All 6 of us are in sync with each other at all times on stage and
when writing." Hunter says, "We are not afraid to go from death metal
to melody to technical to groove. Some bands do similar things, but
I don't think nearly as much as we do." Chimaira's sound is a multi-layered
assault of pure rage, aggressive melodies and brutal lyric's that
touch upon the darkest side of human emotions. So where do they fit
in with today's sudden surge of metal acts? "We really are not trying
to fit in with a click or something. We do a lot on our own and do
not rely on some band to give us their coattails to hang on to like
some bands." States Hunter, "We have no image whatsoever, and we have
a lot of fans. They do not like us because I wear a Venom shirt on
stage or something, they love the music." The band joined forces with
the illustrious producer Mudrock (Godsmack, Powerman 5000) to put
together the band's Roadrunner debut album "Pass Out Of Existence"
which is in stores now. The album includes 14 angry, self loathing
tracks that captures Chimaira's signature pissed-off sound: intense
guitar riffs, scathing bass lines, intricate electronics and heart-pounding
drum sequences blended with refined harmonies and brilliant melodies.
The bands goals- "I want to reach whoever we can reach. We are creating
music for everyone and anyone who will listen." Chimaira is gearing
up for a 5 week tour with Fear Factory, Machine Head and Ill Nino
called "Roadrunner Rage Tour 2001" which starts September 17th, and
will go through October 27th 
