Send "Chevelle " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Ultimate-guitar |
 In the spring of 2010 it was announced that Pete Loeffler had begun writing new songs for an album to be released in fall of 2011. It ended up being winter instead of fall, but the sixth studio release by Chevelle was finally announced to have a release date for 12/06/2011. The single "Face To The Floor" was released in October and began to get some radio play. The album has eleven tracks and clocks in at just under forty five minutes, which is a respectable length. The song ‘Indifference’ is included as a bonus track on iTunes, and the songs "Glimpse Of The Con" and a live version of "Still Running" are included on the Best Buy version of the album. I have the standard edition of the album without any of the bonus tracks, and that is what I will be reviewing.Chevelle has named Helmet, Tool and The Cure as their main influences – which is a pretty weird combination. Listening to this album and trying to hear their influences, it all starts to make sense. The Cure has a much more subtle influence, and seems mostly to have its impact to vocal melody and the few quieter guitar passages on the album. Tool and Helmet are much easier to see with the actual vocal delivery being extremely similar to Maynard’s, and the music itself coming off as a hybrid of Helmet and Tool in sound. At the end of the day, they do sound like their own band more than a collection of their influences, but the similarities to Tool sometimes are pretty strong. I keep listening to Chevelle waiting for them to blow my mind. When I discovered them in 2002 or 2003, which was several months after the release of "Wonder What's Next", I was very excited and went back trying to find their first album which I eventually located. Since then I’ve listened with an enthusiasm that has slowly faded to more of a consistent enjoyment of their music. I would really like to see Chevelle decide they don’t have to write music for the radio stations, but until that happens they are still a solid band and this is a solid album. Regarding the mixing, thought the drums, bass and vocals were great, but often times the guitar seemed much too compressed to me. Riffs are heavy and the songs don’t all sound the same, though you do know you’re listening to Chevelle throughout the album with the very slight possibility of being thrown off by "Prima Donna". // 7 Lyrics and Singing: For me, Pete Loeffler’s voice required some getting used to. His voice and vocal delivery are very similar to Maynard, but different enough to be slightly jarring to me. It may be because I’m a Tool fan, as well as Puscifer and A Perfect Circle, and Pete’s voice was just similar enough to initially be annoying to me. Like I said, his voice has grown on me and I’ve really begun to enjoy what he does vocally. The vocals on "Hats Off To The Bull" are delivered powerfully, with good use of dynamics. Pete’s use of melody is exceptional when compared to most contemporary bands. The lyrical content finds a good balance between having actual content and still being listener friendly. I think "Clones" is possibly my favorite song from a lyrical standpoint. // 8 Impression: Chevelle’s sixth studio album, "Hats Off To The Bull", isn’t a breakthrough album. It doesn’t really explore new ground as a group but instead relies on the foundation of hard rock, sounding vaguely Tool-esque, which has served them so well in the past. While their sound has stayed consistent, they haven’t really become stale or derivative of themselves. There is only so much you can expect from a radio friendly band like Chevelle, and in the range allowed they have created a solid album. The album as a whole was very listenable and at times was really good. Pete Loeffler’s vocals have grown on me, and I’ve come to appreciate what he does. The riffing is nice and the riffs are very heavy. My favorite song on the album would have to be "Revenge" due to this song is where the band probably sounds their most original with the exception of the bass line which really comes across as an almost clone of a Tool riff. I also enjoyed "Prima Donna" a lot, though it doesn’t really sound like Chevelle to me. I’ve had much more appreciation lately for songs that are acoustic or that would at least sound good as an acoustic track, and "Prima Donna" is a good example of a good rock and roll acoustic track. The track "Clones" also deserves a mention – this is an awesome track to close out the album on. I didn’t really dislike any of the tracks on ‘Hats Off to the Bull’, but again even the tracks that stand out aren’t phenomenal. I’ve got into a rut lately waiting for bands that will be like Led Zeppelin or The Beatles are today, but 20 years from now. So far, I am pretty sure that Trent Reznor, Tool and Jack White have managed to pull off this type of legacy. Chevelle isn’t going to make it on this list, which I’ve been sad about, but I still enjoy their music. Finally, this comes down to would I recommend buying the album? Yes....full text |
| Underthegunreview |
| Remember the early 2000s when the hard rock/post-grunge/alternative metal scene was exploding? Bands such as 10 Years, Chevelle, Taproot, Trapt, Cold, Earshot, etc. were a dime a dozen–and most of them weren’t that great. A few of these bands are still kicking around, Chevelle being one that never really stopped doing their thing. Don’t believe me? Their last album, Sci-Fi Crimes hit number one the hard rock and alternative charts, as well as number six on the Billboard 200. Not too shabby for a band that pretty much disappeared with their dying scene around 2005 with the departure of their bassist. With the new album, Hats Off To The Bull, Chevelle sound like a recharged band. While they’re still playing music that is very distinctly Chevelle, but much more fresh than the band has been in recent years. They’ve clearly moved beyond the restraints of the boxes they’ve been placed in, toying with vocal melodies and harmonies that are irregular for Chevelle and their previous cohorts. From the very first guitar riff and vocal line, you know that this isn’t the Chevelle you thought you knew. Seemingly channeling his inner Maynard James Keenan, Pete Loeffler opens the record with a groovy, attitude-packed verse–an energy that holds up for the entire record. What Chevelle seems to have finally mastered on Hats Off To The Bull that seemed to elude them on previous releases is was straddling the line between a warm familiarity and pushing the boundaries a bit. It isn’t until the sixth track on the album (“Envy”) that it becomes a bit obvious that you’re hitting some unfamiliar territory. It just so happens that “Envy” is the hands-down best track on the album. A track which sees Chevelle at their most dramatic, dynamic, and vulnerable–a superbly written track that features the album’s best verse, best vocal line, and the most melodic diversity....full text |
| Popmatters |
| On Hats Off to the Bull, Chevelle’s sixth album, they return to their roots with the amazingly heavy first single, “Face to the Floor”, which has already become one of their biggest hits. Built on an amazing riff, the song sounds just like Chevelle of 2002, and in this day and age, that’s something that’s perfectly acceptable to listen to. “Same Old Trip” takes things down a notch, but only for a bit—built on a nice, solid groove, the band continues along the same old path they’ve been treading for the last few years. But unlike, say, Static-X, who made the same album over and over again for over a decade, Chevelle are able to write catchy songs that linger in your head long after the CD is through spinning. The intro to “Ruse” sounds a bit like 2004’s “Vitamin R” but that’s where the similarities end. “Ruse” is more plodding and doesn’t really evolve beyond a great riff. You can credit producer Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool) with helping the band sound great while making up for any lags in the songwriting area. Fortunately, “The Meddler” ends up sounding much better by almost building like a ballad, which a slow-ish intro and then leading into a blasting chorus. The song sounds tailor made for radio and if it wasn’t released as a single, it could be one of their biggest regrets. Overall, on tracks like “Piñata”, this album is Chevelle’s attempt to change things up a bit by slowing down the tempos and coming up with more than one or two great songs per album. It’s interesting to hear a band like this slowing things down so much and for the most part, succeeding in what they try. The standout track on the album comes about halfway through with “Envy”, which has a delicate and melodic intro and an almost orchestral assault of drums throughout. Even after a decade-plus of slogging through the airwaves, Chevelle are still capable of surprising their fans with something new and fantastic. With “Envy”, Chevelle have written one of the coolest and most atmospheric rock tracks of 2011....full text |
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