Chevelle (band)
American rock band known for heavy riffs and dark lyrical themes.
Chevelle, an American rock band from Grayslake, Illinois, started in 1995. By 2022, they had sold over six million records. Their nine studio albums include 2002's Wonder What's Next, which went double platinum.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- Grayslake, Illinois, U.S.
- Genre
- Hard rock
- alternative metal
- alternative rock
- post-grunge
- Discography
- Chevelle discography
- Years active
- 1995–present
- Label
- Squint
- Epic
- Alchemy Recordings
- Current members
- Pete Loeffler; Sam Loeffler
- Past members
- Matt Scott
- Joe Loeffler
- Dean Bernardini
Facts from the source article.
History
Chevelle formed in 1995 in Grayslake, Illinois, when brothers Pete Loeffler and Sam Loeffler began learning music in their parents' garage. Bassist Matt Scott was in the band until 1996, when the brothers' youngest sibling Joe Loeffler replaced him. All members were self-taught. The name Chevelle was taken from the Chevrolet Chevelle, a car popular in the Midwestern hot rod scene. The band played small outdoor concerts and clubs around Chicago, with Joe being only 14 years old. A seven-track demo known as The Blue Album was released in 1998. After three years of small concerts, the band signed with Steve Taylor's Squint Entertainment, a contemporary Christian music label. They recorded with Steve Albini for 17 days at Electrical Audio studios and released their first full-length album, Point #1, in 1999. Two singles from the album, "Point #1" and "Mia", received GMA Dove Awards in 2000 and 2001 respectively, and the album won a Dove Award for Hard Music Album in 2000. The band's label faced legal troubles as Word Records attempted to wrest control of Squint from Taylor, creating uncertainty about the band's future.
Musical style and influences
Chevelle’s sound has been tagged with many labels over the years, including hard rock, alternative metal, alternative rock, post-grunge, nu metal, progressive metal, and indie rock. Their first album, Point #1, is often called indie rock, while their biggest records, Wonder What’s Next and This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In), are both considered nu metal, with the former praised for its radio-friendly feel. Later efforts like La Gargola and The North Corridor lean heavier and more riff-driven, with lyrics inspired by horror. Their ninth album, NIRATIAS, brings in progressive rock and art rock elements wrapped in a science-fiction theme. The band cites Helmet, Tool, and The Cure as major influences. Chevelle has long been compared to Tool, especially for Pete Loeffler’s vocal resemblance to Maynard James Keenan and the band’s use of soft-loud dynamics. Still, many critics argue Chevelle has its own identity, describing the music as “commanding vocals over jolting guitars and chest-thumping bass beats” and “a kind of controlled chaos, a beautiful darkness, a gentle rampage of aural velocity.”
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