Review Summary: As promised, the Illinois rockers offer arguably their heaviest and most crushing record to date.
When a band releases an album that is met with critical acclaim, they have either two choices for their follow up record. One of those is to change and develop their sound and make an equally or even more so intriguing album, as Radiohead did with their landmark album, Kid A. The other option is to stick to their strengths and dish out new music that incorporates the sounds and textures that made their previous effort successful. While the former is indubitably a risky move, this brings us to what Chevelle is best at; their strengths.
If you're an avid listener of the band's, you'll know what strengths I'm referring to; the relentless heavy riffs combined with the soaring melodies, and frontman Pete Loeffler's talented vocals, to name a few. The band of brothers hail from Grayslake, Illinois, and saw their meteoric rise to success with their outstanding sophomore effort, Wonder What's Next which was certified platinum and offered the hit singles The Red and Send the Pain Below. The album, along with their third effort, was met with considerable praise from critics and fans alike, but was also criticised for ripping off Tool, the famous progressive rock band.
However, the band has gathered quite a large fan base since then, with their heart-pumping and head-banging releases such as Vena Sera and their most recent effort, La Gargola, in 2014. The North Corridor is also an excellent release which was highly anticipated since Pete claimed that the record would be "really heavy". True to his word, this album is one of Chevelle's heaviest and grittiest releases, with quite a few excellent tracks. "Last Days" boasts a terrific riff in its chorus as well as its bridge, soaring and expanding into a crushing track. An easy album highlight. Elsewhere, "Warhol's Showbiz", the album's grooviest track, features an extremely catchy chorus riff and has a pensive nature similar to "A New Momentum". Dean Bernardini does a great job with the bass on this album, such as in lead single "Joyride (Omen)", another album highlight. Sam is also monumental on his drums, and you can feel his presence on each track as he gives a stellar performance on the record. Hidden gem "A Miracle", the album's bonus track features excellent percussion from Sam, and is quite progressive in its nature. Pete sounds better than ever, as he can either shriek like a banshee or croon beautifully at will, while also simultaneously playing brilliant, complex riffs in each song, especially the sprawling giant "Shot from a Cannon".
The North Corridor delivers plenty of tasty and crushing riffs, and each track is given its time to expand and develop over the course of its duration, so that no two songs sound alike. "Young Wicked" is undoubtedly one of Chevelle's heaviest tracks since their early days, featuring a mercilessly head-banging riff and great riffage in the bridge as well. The album also offers some unique tracks and shows the band experimenting with their sound still. "Punchline" is a testament to that statement, as it features a brooding synthline and a gorgeous banjo riff in the chorus, while Pete sings about impending doom. The song takes home the title as the album's absolute best track, as well as its most surprising. "Rivers" is also a good addition to the album, with its enjoyable flamenco guitar riffs and it's heavy riffage heard as the song progresses.
But alas, the album also has a few duds. "Door to Door Cannibals" features a hackneyed riff similar to "Grab Thy Hand", and does nothing much in its duration of four-and-a-half minutes. The track has a sluggish feel, and although it has a decent chorus, it's nothing really special. "Enemies" is also quite dull, and I feel like it could fit on to Vena Sera with its pounding drum rhythm. The penultimate track, "Got Burned" is actually quite excellent as a straightforward rocker and has a driving rhythm, but the following track leaves me with mixed feelings. "Shot from a Cannon" is Chevelle's longest track, even longer than "Dos" and "El Diablo". I was quite excited to hear it as Chevelle experimenting with different styles was always quite intriguing to hear. Sure enough, the track starts off terrifically, sounding as if it could fit on to Wonder What's Next easily. But the song quickly gets repetitive and loses steam, before expanding into a progressive rock behemoth in its final minutes. While the band does keep it interesting for a while, I don't think I'll be listening to the track too much in the future.
In conclusion, The North Corridor is an example of Chevelle taking the safe route and sticking to their roots. The album features some amazing tracks that could fit into my Top 20 list easily, and is a cohesive and solid effort altogether. Pete's lyrics are great and abstract as always, leaving the listeners to interpret them as they see fit, which is something that always intrigued me. For a band's eighth LP, The North Corridor is an impressive effort that shows Chevelle still has it in them, and not only is it a step in the right direction, it is a journey into even bigger and more exciting prospects for the band.
please mind the spelling mistakes, I forgot to edit them 
