After the release of Chevelle"s 1999 debut, "Point #1", they gained some attention in the rock and metal world. Then "Wonder What"s Next" was released three years later. Soon there were many different sides that were taken on what people thought of both the latest album and band. Some people said that they sold out while others said it was a great metal with a mainstream appeal album. Neither stance is true; most songs on "Point #1" are straight up alternative rock and "Wonder What"s Next" was alternative rock again, but repetitive, whiny, and containing nu-metal influences. Two years ago it was 2004 and the new Chevelle album was on its way to be released. With interviews revealing that the band was attempting something different from their last two albums and containing would have a heavier feel, not many knew what to expect. Then they released the single Vitamin R, which was met with enthusiasm from some, while others might have thought it boring. One thing no one could deny however was the challenging lyrics and that Chevelle wasn"t a band that would create songs over and over again meant to be heard on the radio and MTV. Some critics welcomed the new album with open arms saying that Chevelle had finally found their place in the rock/metal world. The album became a chart topper soon, but criticism was still met with. Many said this album was weaker than the last, but Chevelle"s Pete, Joe, and Sam insisted that they knew what they were doing and they weren"t ones to follow a crowd and if they lost fans so be it.
The album opener,
"The Clincher", signifies the dramatic change from "Wonder What"s Next" to "This Type of Thinking". Simplistic in nature much as that of the majority of "Wonder What"s Next" the thing that is different about
"The Clincher" however is the underlying crudeness to it. The drums are simple enough in the intro backing up a fast, single-note distorted guitar riff that soon transitions to a power chord, but the real complexity is during the slower, second verse of the song where the bass holds the song together with its underlying lines. The drawl of Pete"s voice is more ominous than that of "Wonder What"s Next". In the verse he seems almost depressed and the distorted guitar, which at first doesn"t seem to carry the melody even though that was its job on the previous record, reflects this as well. That changes when the song reaches the pre-chorus. The guitar slightly shows some melodic influence, but is barely audible in the first place and when it seems the song is about to hit the chorus a second verse goes straight in at the one-minute mark. Finally at nearly the two-minute mark the song goes into the chorus where Pete sings, "Could we have known? Never would I, helped to nail down. With nothing to gain here"s the clincher. This should be you." Things are all well and dandy during the chorus, which is fairly reminiscent of old Chevelle, but then something happens. When he starts singing "now saturate" repeatedly directly after the chorus and ends with, "and touch", the whole song itself becomes increasingly "hostile". Pete goes from his most melodic moment of the song to then screaming, "now saturate, now saturate, the Earth". After this point the last minute or so repeats itself and the broodiness of the guitar has disappeared. Instead it provides a rhythm that moves along a new chorus, which pops up after Pete"s second time of screaming. Never before had Chevelle written such a strong and heavy song with the only thing coming close to it being the title-track of "Wonder What"s Next". Choosing
"The Clincher" as the opener of "This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)" is great because it both pumps and prepares anyone who"s listening for all that"s to come.
Out of the several things that Chevelle have improved on upon "The Type of Thinking" is the bass" role in the music. Joe Loeffler had a big role on the bands debut album, "Point #1", but then took a backseat with "Wonder What"s Next". Now he"s taking back the role of being a prominent member of the band.
"Get Some" turns Joe into a main driver of the song, even if having to retain into the background at times he leaps in and out of verses almost seeming to have been swallowed by the guitar, but then thumps along for a long time. This would be a great reason for
"Get Some" to be considered a standout, but it"s not enough. The lyrics are one of the more unique things about the song. At times it seems the band is poking fun at reality shows, especially during the bridge of the song. "Don"t take the fall we"d hate to see. That"s entertainment get some. Eyes on the goal, last one to get is passed over, looked over. Never rehearse, they"ve spiked the water, it"s in the blood, get some." Pete conveys several emotions through these lyrics and Joe helps by backing him up to create a slightly more note worthy song.
"Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)" was the lead single off "This Type of Thinking" and rightfully so. Pete"s vocals in the beginning and well throughout are incredibly catchy, but also controlled well. The verses in the song are incredibly unambiguous, simple in design, but Pete"s singing gives the song a somewhat mystifying edge to it. The guitars performance is unlike the rest of "This Type of Thinking" because most of the other songs, save the few ballads, are heavy. The riffs are distinctive, but hard to notice at times and seem to try to stay in the background and let Pete be the center of attention. This leads up to comparisons of Tool and Manyard James Keenan, sadly. Chevelle"s music on any of their albums doesn"t compare to Tool in any way, but admittedly
"Vitamin R" does seem to take Tool as an influence in the way described. Because of it"s slower, mysterious feel it does seem to wear down eventually, but is still an appealing song.
If there was an instance where Chevelle completely stripped of any mainstream capability it would be
"Still Running. It is undoubtedly the heaviest song that Chevelle have written. A tamer version of the song had been released before on "The Punisher" soundtrack. This version however would fit the apocalypse. The Loefflers never worked so well together with the guitar, bass drumming, vocals and backing vocals. The guitar punches out a hard riff at the beginning after Pete yells out a "disclaimer" to the song. Then all of a sudden stops and goes to quick and varied palm muted riffs and the bass eloquently plays over that with what the guitar had done in the opening. The anger portrayed here actually makes the fact that they tune so low on the whole album acceptable (Drop A#). The bridge is scary with the full onslaught of the instruments and what Pete menacingly sings and screams. "Selfishly walking through, killing the angles. Picking and choosing to screw all of us one by one." "Still Running" simply amazing and shows both how heavy they can get, but at the same time being somewhat melodically catchy as well as that their song-structures are far from simple. Up until now there wasn"t anything to rag on about this record save the low tuning. Regrettably,
"Breach Birth" contains a couple things that need to be touched upon.
"Breach Birth" seems to be trying to turn Chevelle back to the days of "Wonder What"s Next" (somewhere they hopefully will never go again). Pete"s voice is strong on every song and he varies himself quite a bit at times, but here he struggles slightly. At times he"s on the verge of heading back to a whinier voice that fit "Wonder What"s Next". The chorus repeats too many times to be enjoyable either. One of the few things enjoyable is the clean affect on the guitar and the bass line that dominates the song, slightly making up for Pete"s worst performance yet.
"Panic Prone" is a soothingly beautiful surprise. As both a ballad and song itself it excels and even fits with the much angrier and heavier songs of "This Type of Thinking". The song seems almost political at times and President Bush may very well be the focus of the song. "Gave in again, the bastard. Can"t keep refusing rights. So he"ll loan the cash, but the sin is on the hands of you. So to care or plead silence, weak hands are calling." The instruments only add to the song because they don"t even matter here; Pete"s singing is so swaying he could be by himself and it would still be a fantastic song. At first
"Another Know It All" seems like it"s going to be the heaviest song on the record. The guitar riffs boom out of nowhere and Sam serves up some double bass, but doesn"t go really fast. Then all of a sudden it slows down to some extent with Pete slowly coming in with a slight drawl. It"s one of the more angry songs with accusatory lyrics. By this point of the album however the anger wears down. As a song itself,
"Another Know It All" is an entertaining song and does fit with the albums sound, but becomes faintly stereotypical. Sadly, both
"Tug-O-War" and
"To Return" are much like
"Another Know It All" in the sense that both fit the overall sound of the record, but continue to wear on the enjoyment of the album.
"Tug-O-War" is the worst song of the record and doesn"t feel inspired at all. Only the chorus is really pleasing.
"To Return" is in much the same vein as
"Tug-O-War", but the squash affect of the guitar makes for a better experience.
By this time it almost seems like the album is going to become average if the songs keep progressively getting more tedious. However, the final two songs are some of the most impressive work here.
"Emotional Drought"s" heavy guitar and bass riffing sets an attitude of caution and hope that sets the stage for another of Pete"s standout performances. He moans the verse while a steady bass line keeps the song together, but then it all breaks loose with an amazing chorus. The whole attitude of the album becomes much more positive with this song and the whole experience is rather uplifting. As an utterly amazing way to close off the song with the bridge of the song everything is amped up and Pete screams his lungs out. The entire song is about being true to one"s self and not being influenced by others. "There"s a choice to not end up like you" represents the whole atmosphere it.
"Bend The Bracket" is unlike any other song present. As a great way to close "This Type of Thinking", Chevelle chose an acoustic ballad as the finale. The song is simple in design and multiple parts are repeated, but it"s so relaxing a five-minute ballad is appreciated. "This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)" closes out at forty-six minutes long, but it seems quite longer. The beginning of the album felt like an angry pursuit of redemption on the bands part, but soon became even more emotionally drenched. Slight bumps were encountered, but the overall experience is a grand one.
One of the big problems that people don't like about Chevelle has always been the fact that the guitar is tuned obscenely low. Drop A# seems to be the general tuning on "This Type of Thinking" causing for some to declare that there is no creativity and originality to their songs, which is utter crap. Their music certainly isn"t jovial, but that means nothing. "This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)" shows Chevelle"s obvious influences going from Tool to Helmet, but doesn"t rip them off. Pete creates his own distinct vocals on the record and takes full advantage of it. "This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)" may seem simple to the casual listener, but a further analysis reveals that Chevelle"s members work well with each other and created something endearing, but at the same time "no holds barred". The riffs are somewhat daring and test the boundaries of the mainstream success the band found on "Wonder What"s Next", but Pete"s improved singing along with Joe"s considerable amount of backup vocals create something tasteful. This barely bests "Point #1" (it"s really a matter of taste though), but tosses "Wonder What"s Next completely out of contention and is an excellent album overall too.
