Band:	Coal Chamber
Album:	Coal Chamber
Style:	Nu metal
Release date:	February 11, 1997
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Loco
02. Bradley
03. Oddity
04. Unspoiled
05. Big Truck
06. Sway
07. First
08. Maricon Puto
09. I
10. Clock
11. My Frustration
12. Amir Of The Desert
13. Dreamtime
14. Pig

Man, nu metal was a strange genre; widely ridiculed as being one of the worst moments in metal, Coal Chamber are often cited as one of the worst bands that came to the fore during it's heyday. That reputation turns out to be well founded when you somehow finding yourself hitting play on this album; while Dez Fafara and co have gone on to redeem themselves in their future projects, this will always serve as the albatross around their necks.

"Amir Of The Desert" sums this album up perfectly, melding into nothingness in the background until, I kid you not, Dez sings "merlerlelerler oop pa", at which point it smacks you to attention with just how bad it is. I get the song is a joke (one that hasn't aged well to boot), but when you consider "Big Truck" and "Clock" are supposed to be serious, they come off just as bad as "Amir?.", and it's hard to separate where they wanted to be taken seriously and where they wanted to mess around.

The first thing that will strike you about this album is that the music is dull and often boring. While nu metal often indulged in dark, brooding tracks that weren't exactly energetic, at least other bands managed to do that while sounding interesting. This album passes by in a downtuned blur for the most part, with a few moments of groove like in "Bradley" that momentarily grab your attention for the right reasons.

That said, it would be unfair to judge the performance of the band on this album by normal measures, as nu metal was a genre that, with few exceptions, did not allow musicians to truly shine. However, even after re-adjusting the bar to measure them by, the band is still poor; with few exceptions, the music is bland and just?exists. Korn show that this kind of dark music can still be interesting, possess a high level of musicianship and hold your attention. It's just a shame Coal Chamber didn't get that memo.

That's not to say the record doesn't have some moments; "Sway" and "Loco" do have a doofy charm to them that endear themselves, while the aforementioned "Bradley" has the groove that does rise above the noise of the album. They aren't great songs in the grand scheme of things, but they are moments of respite from the rest of the album at the very least.

Some things are better left in the past and that can certainly apply to Coal Chamber, a debut album that must rank amongst the worst in metal; you'll have a newfound appreciation for DevilDriver when you consider where Dez started off from.