Concert in your area for Rock, Indie & Alt, and Metal.
Originally composed of three brothers, Pete Loeffer (lead vicars and guitar), Sam Loeffer (drums and percussion) and Joe Loeffer (bass and backing vocals), Chevelle have had a successful career creating radio-friendly metal heavily indebted to Tool's melodic vocals and Helmet's aggressive, driven riffs. They have sold over four million albums in the United States, achieving moderate chart success.
In 1999, Chevelle released their Steve Albini produced debut album "Point #1," receiving moderate reviews, including a Dove Award for 'Best Hard Music Album.' Following several high-profile support slots on tours with Sevendust, Machine Head and Filter, Chevelle grew in popularity, eventually signing to Epic Records to release their second album, "Wonder What's Next" in 2002. The album was a commercial success, with the single "The Red" reaching number three on the Mainstream Rock Charts, with the album peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Charts.
Their third album, "This Type of Thinking" (2004) achieved more commercial success, reaching number eight on the Bilboard Charts. However, following this release, Joe Loeffer left the band, a split was not entirely amicable, with Dean Bernardini becoming their full-time replacement bassist.
Chevelle have embarked on many high profile tours, supporting Nickleback on an arena tour as well as main stage slots on Ozzfest's bill. Their success continued through a further four albums, all achieving moderate commercial success. 2007's "Vena Sera" debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Charts, selling 62,000 copies within its first week of release. For their sixth album, "Hats of the Bull" (2011) they attempted to incorporate new sounds and ideas, gaining praise as being a positive progression, debuting at number 20 on the Billboard charts.
Having signed with a supposedly Christian rock label, Squint Entertainment, the band created controversy due to their appearance at the Ozzfest tours, playing alongside bands such as Cradle of Filth, who were known to have satanic themes in their music. Chevelle did not denounce their faith but they insisted their music was not an avenue for the expression of it, instead it was a purely musical pursuit and not a "pedestal for preaching."
It’s an unspoken rule among power trios to sound bigger than every other band in existence. From Rush, to Muse, from Motorhead through to Biffy Clyro it’s almost a pressure on them to make up for their lack of members by sounding monstrously huge in every other respect. A lot of the time this means that when playing live their sound has to be bolstered by a couple of other musicians. Understandably so of course, in Muse’s case it’s very impressive that they have just the one, but in the case of Grayslake Illinois natives Chevelle, three is all they need to rock with the intensity of a natural disaster with none of the devastation afterwards.
Fronted by the Loeffler brothers Pete and Sam on guitar and drums respectively, Chevelle do a fine job of bringing their undeniable heaviness to the forefront of their live shows. However, what puts them above and beyond their post-grunge peers is how well they incorporate their subtler, alternative rock and post-hardcore influences into their bludgeoning alt.metal. While they might bring the righteous mosh with them wherever they go, their music is by no means stupid, giving their audiences something for the head as well as the heart. Chevelle may not be as revered over on this side of the pond as the power trios listed above, but they do deserve to be, so next time they’re over take a chance on them. You will not regret it!