Customer Reviews

Giving the Devil His Due

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For the most die-hard of Coal Chamber fans... the wait is over. This perfect collector's c.d. is PACKED with rare gems and remixes that span the entire careers of Meegs, Mikey, Rayna, and Dez. From awesome b-sides like "Wishes", "Anxiety", and "Save Yourself" to rare remixes like the original version of "Not Living" and "One Step (Chop Shop Mix)" to impossible to find demos like "Babbitt" and the newly recorded cut "Headstones and The Walking Dead", this c.d. is studded with new songs, rare songs, and remixes that are so good it's a wonder why they were never included on any official releases! If you like Coal Chamber even a LITTLE bit, this c.d. is for you. Enjoy...

With Coal Chamber on hiatus due to what seems to be inner tensions within the band (they're just not the same without Rayna) the band decided to release an album of b-sides, remixes demos and such. Most albums like this tend to just suck because of the fact that alot of bands that do remixes don't change the song at all, they just add slightly different sounds to all of it. All in all as far as the remixes go, they serve their purpose. Now, as for the b-sides and demos (the main reason I bought this album in the first place) are what this cd is all about. From the opening track "Headstones and the Walking Dead" the cd is one helluva ride from there on out. That song in fact was meant to be on the self-titled album but Dez never got around to putting vocals onto it. The majority of the b-sides sound like they were from "Chamber Music" and "Dark Days", which is in my opinion, their best one yet. The original versions of "Pig" and "Not Living" are different that what was on the cds, "Not Living" actually had a tinge of industrial to it by the end and was alot different than what ended up on Chamber Music. The live version of Big Truck is of O.K. quality, but still awesome as hell. Since I love hearing demos. Some of them sound like Mike's snare drum is just him smacking a cow bell. The early versions of "Loco" and the extremely rare "Babbit" are the best on the album. All in all if you're like me and are big on getting demos and remixes, this album is definitely for you. All hardcore Coal Chamber fans MUST have this in their collection! And if you love Coal Chamber you seriously need to check out DevilDriver, Dez's new band.
Peace out and keep rockin'
-matt-

the fact that this is the most likely the last 'original' album by coal chamber is a downer coz this shouldn't be the way to remember them by the releasing of b-sides and whatnot. now, i do like this cd. its actually good to have i guess all of their rare tracks in one place.

but i do take issue with some of this. for example, the first track. if you download it off the official roadrunner records site and just listen to it, you can't really tell what dez is saying. you understand the majority of it, with some parts leaving you scratching your head. its only here while reading the lyrics it gives you an idea that dez's ego is really kicking in and taking multiple potshots at his bandmates (at the time their future was up in the air and no one knew what was what). its disrespectful in a manner to use a coal chamber song as a "f**k you" to the people who made the music. also, its old music with dez's new vocal style...it just doesn't work.

then there the "remixes"...they can hardly be construed as remixes as there is barely anything there that is different. if anything most of the songs have tiny portions that are minutely different with the rest sounding like an album version. if anything, it's almost like a lord-alge remix, barely anything different but requiring a listen to both back to back to hear a difference. but there is a difference that you can hear, but not much. "el cu cuy" is an example of that, it just sounds like the album version with the beginning removed. now, the only one that truly sounds like a remix would be "sway" with guest vocals by jay gordon and ryan shuck of orgy. the "bradley" remix is not that great and i do deduct points coz it's an edit. imagine, an edit on an album with a p.a.

but, the remixes are listenable and good as long as you think of them as alternate versions, not remixes. the original version of "pig" sounds exactly like the album version...its weird. then you got the stuff that were soundtrack exclusives. you have the phenomanal original version of "not living" that was on 'strangeland'. its absolutely great. then theres "blisters" that was on 'bride of chucky'...again another great track.

then there's some unreleased stuff like 'anxiety', 'save yourself' that are pretty good. but i'm confused coz i knew about 'anxiety' since '97 or so before 'chamber music' came out. apparently it was on the loco single, but here in the booklet it says 'dark days outtake'. the live version of 'big truck' is nice but it bothers me that i don't know when it was recorded...but since its the last track before the demos, i imagine it was somewhat recent.

now the demos are not all that spectactular. its hard to listen to them and not draw a comparision to what ended up on the debut. it does make you appreciate the debut just a bit more and how it turned out coz if those songs weren't fine tuned, the demo versions are most likely what we would've had. an example is 'loco'...dez's vocals are no near as good as the debut. in fact, its dez's vocals that no more near as good on any of them...its almost as if getting dumped on the day of recording vocal tracks for the debut did him a favor. the music is great though. the one demo thats truly good is 'babbit'. why? coz we've never heard it before and there is nothing to compare it to. it stands on its own and it is great. in fact, the beginning is pretty good...it's pretty jaw-dropping.

in the end, when its over...its just a sad ending to what was a great band. especially when listening to demos...it's difficult to imagine the band recording them trying to get a record deal ended up going out with a whimper instead a bang. shame.

It seems like quite a while since we were able to enjoy a new Coal Chamber album. I personally enjoyed Dark Days quite a bit and was hoping for another Coal Chamber CD soon. Unfortunately, the band members didnt seem to be getting along and with Dez deciding to put his time into his other band, Devildriver, it seemed like the fans werent going to get their wish. But then, an announcement came.

Coal Chamber was going to be releasing an album with B-sides and remixes. Immediately, I cringed. There have been plenty of bands that have done this and it didnt work out. Normally, Im not a big fan of remix albums. The only one Ive enjoyed thus far is White Zombies. I think Limp Bizkit killed the remix album with their horrible, horrible, horrible and atrocious attempt at it. Well, after taking a look at the track listing for this new Coal Chamber CD with the kick-[ing] title, I decided to give it a shot.

Those that agree with me that remix albums are not great, you will be happy with this album. The remixes, for the most part, do not butcher the classic Coal Chamber songs. Big Truck (Hands-on-Wheel Mix) sounds just like the original except the guitars have a more electronic sound. Other than that, its the same song. The same goes for Bradly (Going Postal Mix). However, those songs that are different from their original are not necessarily bad. Sway (Hypno-Submissive Mix) is almost better, but not quite. Its certainly different. While the original version had the word sway being screamed in the background during the chorus, this remix has it being sung in almost a church choir kind of way. At first, that may sound repulsive and Ill admit, it took me by surprise. But, after listening to it more, its almost funny in a way. Dez is so intense the entire song and then you hear sway being sung as if it were being sung by angels. Its definitely worth a listen.

Other remixes on the album include El Cu Cuy (Man-To-Monster Mix) and One Step (Chop Shop Mix). Those that love El Cu Cuy like I do will be happy to know that the song was hardly changed. Its just a bit heavier. According to the insert, the person who put together this CD just wanted fans to hear this song because it almost went unheard on the Chamber Music CD. The only complaint I have is that they took out the talking at the beginning. It just starts with Dez screaming, Paulie shots! The One Step remix is unbelievable. To quote the insert, Scott Humphrey absolutely nailed it. Not much of a change from the original, but its heavier and the guitar is much more electronic. Like I stated above, the remixes are not a huge change over the original, which I believe is a good thing.

There are a few unreleased songs on this album. Each one can be found on some sort of soundtrack except for Headstones and the Walking Dead. For a new Coal Chamber song, I dont like it as much as some of the other stuff. Still, it is a good song in case you forget the name of the CD. The other tracks that are unreleased are fantastic with Anxiety and Wishes being my personal favorites.

And then, finally, there are the original versions of songs and the demos. There are two original versions of songs on here, one for Not Living and the other for Pig. Both are not too far removed from the version that appeared on the actual album. The demos, however, are completely different than the final song and are actually quite interesting to listen to. It was hard to recognize I and Unspoiled right off the bat because it doesnt sound like the original at all. However, once the song kicks in, it slowly starts to reveal itself and you are left amazed that a demo like that turned out to be a final song like the ones on the album. Unspoiled, Sway, and Oddity are especially unique because they feature different lyrics than their final cut. Loco is just like the classic except for the fact that it isnt finally tuned as of that time. The final track, Babbit, is another demo that was never turned into an actual album song, which is a shame since it sounds like it could have been another Coal Chamber masterpiece.

The only other thing on this album that wasnt mentioned was the live version of Big Truck. There is no real reason to mention it. Its just a live version. Thats it. I planned on giving this album a 3.5 as a rating, but since there is no 3.5, I felt a 4 is much more suiting than a 3. This album will disappoint those that are looking for full on remixes but itll also be a relief for those that dont want their classic songs swirled around so much. Die-hard Coal Chamber fans should pick this up if not to learn how Coal Chamber grew as a band with their demos, cuts, and original versions then to simply add it to your collection. Hopefully, Coal Chamber will come out with another heavy-hitting album in the near future. Until that time, well just be giving the devil his due.

i bought this cd the day it came out!at 10:00 am,at [local store]!i think i was one of the first people in abbotsford to buy it!i popped it in my cd player and listened to it,and i loved it!here are song ratings...headstone and the walking dead:a very good song,dark days style 5/5!
big truck remix:a very good remix!cool sound 5/5
pig(original version):way better than the album version 5/5
bradley(going postal mix):not much different but still good 5/5
sway(remix):not to much different,but cool chorus 4 & a half/5
not living(not living (ariginal version):sweet,sweeet!5/5
blisters:its pretty sweet,but to calm!not the best but good 4/5
el cu cuy(remix):awsome one of my favourites!5/5
wishes:pretty heavy,dark days style!5/5
apparition:its all right,still good but not a favourite 3/5
anxiety:awsome!short chorus,but good lyrics 5/5
save yourself:awsome!there lyrics are different in this 5/5
one step(remix):i dont notice anything different!4/5
big truck(live):pretty sweet!good live!5/5
i(demo):pretty good!way different from real version 4/5
oddity(demo):its all right,dont listen to it much 3/5
sway(demo):my favourite track!alote different from the real sway!more of a rock version!6/5
unspoiled(demo):this version is way better than the real one 5/5
loco(demo):not as good as the real one but different 5/5
babbit(demo):sweeetness!strange song!but awsome!5/5
awsome cd!get it!

Now, I know what many people think when they see a bunch of remix's and "demo" version's of songs. They think "wow, this band must really not have anything going on right now". Well, since the release of this cd, Coal Chamber broke up, Dez going to his new band Devildriver. Personally I think it was a mistake, this cd proving exactly why. From tracks spanning Coal Chamber's nearly 1 decade of "terror" in music, this cd shows their birth, as well as their demise, but what is hopefully just a terrible choice in the idea of the band breaking up, I for one hope, is a mistake that is rectified. As I saw one review said, it is true, this cd is for the hardcore Coal Chamber fan. For those of you who have heard or may have all 3 of their other fantastic releases, Dark Days, Chamber Music, and their debut self-titled Coal Chamber cd, in this cd, you get to hear them rebirthed in the remixes this cd has, as well as hear their origional versions of several songs from before they were even on Roadrunner records, or during their early times. As I said, this cd is one you need for your collection because you can hear the wide array of style Coal Chamber spurts, plus you get to hear a new track that kicks ass so... But yeah, get this cd, you won't be disappointed!

Coal Chamber have long called it quits for a while now and only the brave hearted dare tempt the ideal of a reunion. That said a plethora of new fans still seem to be surging onto the Chamber scene and buy up the short but ample discography of what the once mighty Coal Chamber had accomplished in its short run. This album is kind of the marking point of the demise of Coal Chamber and thus the first reason Chamber Wh()res will and must own this.

Truth be told this isn't all that bad of an album, If your a fan of pretty much everything Coal Chamber ever recorded. If you are a new Chamber fan looking to buy your first Chamber C.D. don't.. Either buy the self titled or Chamber Music(my personal favorite). The album it self is a collection of songs never before heard or released, rare remixes that really aren't all that much different from the originals except for new sounds heard here and there on the tracks and of course original versions of classic CC tracks. Oh and of course the live recording of the CC anthem Big Truck, Which is decent but quality is fairly rough.

In a simplistic no jazzy wording way of teling you, Only get this if you are a fan of Coal Chambers music. All others go listen to one of the three studio albums until your mind is warped into being a fan then buy this.

when i heard that coal chamber were releasing a b-sides and remix record, i was extatic...being a fan of all coal chamber has done, i proceeded in purchasing this album. my favorite part of the album is the demos...'I' is one of my favorite songs by them...and i loved the demo version even better than the original...and i know alot of avid cc fans will surely disagree...but in my opinion, 'blisters' is the best song coal chamber has ever written, lyrically, and musically. this is only a must-bye if you are a true cc fan, if you are just getting into them...buy either of their first three (prefferably "chamber music")

Okay this CD had it all tracks of new and old. Ive heard all of Coal Chamber and this CD had tracks I never knew they even recorded. It was so cool. THeres remixes singles and live stuff, BUY THIS CD! Even if you only their old style or their new style this CD rules. So check it out

This cd is not just a compilation of old coal chamber songs and remixes. Its a quality compilation of old coal chamber songs and remixes. This is a great album worthy of buyingness.