Formed: 1998
From:
Cleveland,
OH,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Background
Self-proclaimed leaders of the "new wave of American heavy metal", Chimaira was formed in Cleveland in 1998, recording the indie This Present Darkness album in 2000 before earning a contract with Roadrunner Records for their next two releases.
Chimaira was spawned in 1998 by Jason Hager, the guitarist of the now defunct, Ascension. Hager's desire 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. After a great deal of trial and error the Chimaira family came to be what it is today: Mark Hunter (vocals), Rob Arnold and Jason Hager (guitarists) (recently left band and replaced by Matt Devries), Andols Herrick (drummer), Jim LaMarca (bass), and Chris Spicuzza (electronics).
This Cleveland six piece's unrelenting attitude and drive to succeed has helped them sell close to 10,000 copies of their independently released EP, This Present Darkness. Chimaira developed their fan base through touring, the Internet and radio- particularly stations 93X(Minneapolis) and WSOU (NY/NJ). Last year Chimaira shared the stage with the likes of Soulfly, Hatebreed, Spineshank, and Snapcase.
In March 2001 the band joined forces with the illustrious producer Mudrock (Godsmack, Powerman 5000) to put together the 14 fiercely emotional tracks that are showcased on PASS OUT OF EXISTENCE - the band's Roadrunner debut album.
Below is a summary of Chimaira coverage and information on Metal Underground.com.
