Chimaira - Secrets of the Dead

It appears that Chimaira are following their fellow metal brethren Mastodon in terms of hyping an album. Never have I seen two albums build up so much hype based on one single and a website. It's insane, but both bands definitely deserve the attention they are receiving.

We all know that Mastodon's first single, "Divinations," exceeded everybody's expectations, but how would Chimaira's first single fare? Unfortunately, "Secrets of the Dead" is an extreme letdown, especially after all of the hype (thanks metalsucks). It's not necessarily a bad song, but the song simply moves nowhere during the first 3 minutes. It's not until the last minute of the song that the listener's interest begins to climb, but it is too little too late.

However, the song does show some promising new aspects of Chimaira. First, it appears as though they are moving in a heavier direction, incorporating both blast beats and a menacing death metal growl in "Secrets..." The song is also much slower than anything seen on Resurrection, and the soft banging of my head is informing me that there is indeed a bit of groove in the song as well.

With the single Chimaira show that they are headed in a very intriguing direction; Hopefully the rest of their new album will grab the listeners attention a bit sooner than at the very end of the song.

3/5