Chevelle - The North Corridor

Chevelle
The North Corridor
2016
Spotify

If you know Chevelle at all it is likely from 2002's "The Red" which shot them into stardom in the hard rock/emo scene. They always had a bit more aggression than a lot of emo bands but fourteen years later they seem to be ratcheting that up a notch. The North Corridor is wall to wall hard rock, for better or for worse. Whether you like it or not Chevelle are going to shove these songs down your throat. The opener "Door to Door Cannibals" is fuzy with noise and somewhat distant, as is much of the record. Chevelle seem to be abandoning some of the more pop sensibilities that they may have had and instead are really turning the volume and power up to 11. This record is a headbanger's dream, but it is almost as if Chevelle are positioning themselves to be taking on a more Deftones type of sound. However their music never gets to that level. The Deftones feel like they make the music they do because they absolutely have to, With Chevelle it just seems like they are being hard just to be hard rather than to get a real message across. This also adds to the record sounding very one note. Sure the chords are different but each track progresses almost the exact same way, guitar lick, drum kick, light screaming, heavier screaming, guitar solo end. You just end up needing something more, something different to breakup the blanket of same.

Another issue with the record is the mix. Whether intentional or not nothing seems like it is at the right level from the very first note of the album. The muffled vocals also give an amateur feel to the album that is not befitting a band that has been doing this for almost 20 years. "Wharhol's Showbiz" ends with this fuzz and dim hum that is supposed to cause some unease, but it is more annoying than anything. The first look we get at some real production is on "Punchline" with the inclusion of an acoustic guitar which adds so much dimension to the song. The vocal fuzz is also gone and the drums are replaced with some interesting percussion choices. The fact that it takes seven tracks to get to this point though is a real problem. When they take a risk it pays off, but they really don't do that here. There is enough on The North Corridor to appease all the hardcore fans but in terms of bringing any new listeners in Chevelle are not doing themselves any favors. What they have proved however is that they are able to make consistent music and when they do get out of their comfort zone some really good things can come.

5.0 out of 10