Chevelle
Wonder What's next

"Ok Guys, sit down... the lesson has begun." This is what Deftones and Tool said towards the end of the 90s in a vast and stinky classroom full of students eager to learn. Among the front rows of this classroom sat three spirited young men from Chicago, united not only by a tight familial bond but also by a passion for what their teachers taught.

Indeed, by the end of the year, Chevelle passed with flying colors, having learned their masters' teachings more than well... perhaps too well; in fact, the band throughout their career never experienced an actual change in genre nor did they create a true musical turning point... their artistic maturity remains confined to their genre and the type of music they play. This shouldn't necessarily be seen as a demerit note since the band has consistently shown a rare ability and mastery in playing a genre (let's say post-grunge with nu/alternative metal influences) which, despite its catchiness, might be seen as banal from an objective point of view. This "Wonder What's Next" is the second studio effort from the band after a respectable debut album (Point #1) where the band seems to have found their musical path... a path they will never abandon throughout their career (or rather... they will expand their musical journey with various influences without ever forgetting their roots). Chevelle's formula is based on creating the most atmospheric situations possible especially thanks to the voice and guitar riffs of frontman Pete Loeffler, and in this album, one witnesses the purest and most "evocative" interpretation of this formula. Indeed, the album starts off excellently with "Family System" which transports the listener to a different world, allowing a free reign to all their emotions... from anger to tranquility to reflection (in the latter, even the lyrics play their part).

This sensation continues with "Comfortable Liar," which is the closest track to Breaking Benjamin (Ben Burnley discovered and produced this band) among all the band's tracks... a wonderful piece. The fairy-tale journey halts, bringing the listener back to the real world and making room for the three singles extracted from the album: "Send The Pain Below," "Closure," and "The Red." The first track of this triad is assigned the melodic part of the record which explodes in all its sonic impact in an damnably catchy chorus... "Closure" takes on the romantic part presenting itself as the official candidate for the "masterpiece of the record"... but just when you think you've reached the peak you discover there's something better... the track that gives you chills just by hearing its beginning arrives... "The Red." This track is pure anger, emotion, reflection, suffering, and depression without frills or overly complex arrangements... a piece that, even on the first listen, reaches exactly where it needs to in its apparent simplicity. I would really like to dwell more on this track but certain emotions cannot be described in words. The second part of the album temporarily sets aside emotional impact to give the listener 4 headbanging moments in greater freedom. "Wonder What's Next" is a track in full Deftones style which doesn't stand out for originality but inspires headbanging from the first riff and flows smoothly in its context... in "Don't Fake This," it’s the choruses that dominate, giving rise to a wonderful, compact, and catchy track... whereas "Forfeit" should be praised for its guitar and bass riffs, even if it doesn't shine among the highest points of the CD... while in "Grab Thy Hand," what's highlighted is the powerful voice of the young gentleman at the microphone. We're almost at the end of the journey, and here we stand before a quite ambiguous track, which is "An Evening With El Diablo," where certainly the band provides the final confirmation of their compositional abilities by producing a decidedly wonderful piece... the most notable thing is the younger brother's bass riff, which had remained fairly anonymous up to this point, which despite being very simple hits hard enough to fully engage you in the piece.

Now, we've arrived at our destination and, of course, a typical topos of albums of this genre can't be missing, that is, the depressing tear-jerking acoustic ballad, and this "One Lonely Visitor" evokes a melancholy and nostalgia that I think should be placed in a somewhat anachronistic setting with a bottle of alcohol on a table, a half-empty pack of cigarettes, and some slight tears in the eyes while reflecting on everything that can run through your mind, closing a decidedly and magnificently as few albums do.

To summarize what's been said so far, this is a reflective, evocative, dreamy, and visionary album but most importantly subjective since the emotions these 11 tracks may evoke in you vary depending on the person and how you feel at a particular moment... if you are looking for the "musical discovery," look elsewhere... if the various Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, and Nickelback have bored you for their excessive banality & are looking for a more original and inspired rock work you've found your match... if you simply want to listen to an excellently crafted album, then I highly recommend listening to this album.