Last month's pick was Megadeth-Rude Awakening (Sanctuary, 2002). To see past picks check out the archive.

What's up dirt heads? Sorry for the delay in getting my next pick up. I've been extremely busy running around with my head cut off. Anyways, my next pick's title of "Dark Days" sums up everything that has gone wrong in the past few months where my favorite bands have been breaking up. (Megadeth & Fear Factory) In fact, Coal Chamber was almost added to that list by the hair of my chiny-chin-chin. I must have a curse on me. It's either that or someone upstairs doesn't like me too well.

I'm very thankful that Coal Chamber did not in fact break up. They worked out their problems and realized that a little spat on stage is not worth ending the ride of their lives and not worth crushing the heart's of all of their fans out there. They got it out of their system and patched things up.

Luckily, I was one of the few who got to witness Coal Chamber's comeback and celebrate the release of "Dark Days" at the Key Club on May 7th. The only people lucky enough to get into this packed show was to buy a copy of the CD at Tower Records that morning. Yes, yours truly was there bright and early.

Coal Chamber played an amazing set! Starting right off the bat with "Loco" and never stopping from there. Off the new album, they busted into "Fiend," "Something Told Me," and "Rowboat." I was surprised to only see a few songs off of their sophmore release but glad they did "Not Living" and "Feed My Dreams." Lastly, they ended the night with "Sway." All in all, it was a great 45 minute set. I was hoping for more new songs and a little bit longer set, but I guess I'll have to see them soon on the Dark Days Tour with American Head Charge and Medication.

Ex-bassist Rayna Foss-Rose actually wrote all of her parts for the album and recorded them, before commiting full time to raise her family. She will be sadly missed but new replacement Nadja Puelen kicks some major ass. On stage she's a wild woman! My eyes were glued to her presence as she rocked the stage, besides she's hot!

Onto the actual album! Dark Days is by far there best work to date! I'm glad they went back to their old school style and brought back that feeling of when I first bought their first album. The song structure has matured and the break downs are crazy! The guitar effects used throughout the songs was one of the first things I noticed on this album. It's clear that guitarist Miguel Rascon has worked his butt off and incorporated that eerie tone into each song.

Another noticable change was in Dez's vocals! His delivery this time around is astonishing! The dark rugged growl definately works throughout the album. And it's not just on one song, it's on every single one of them. In Chamber Music, you can tell there was a lot of experimenting going on and no real focus, but with Dark Days, Dez is back and he's not backing down!

Drummer Mike Cox has to be the most exciting drummer to date! Plain and simple, he's fun to watch! He really plays his heart out and looks like he was born to play drums. His drum set is also eye catching because, there are no bass drums! Instead, you see his pedals and his feet a-flying! I know if I was a little bit younger, I would have been inspired to play the drum set much like Cox.

On the opening track, "Fiend," it's evident that Coal Chamber is back and aggressive as ever! This song is a joy ride of emotions on a rollercoaster. On the catchy tune of "Something Told Me", we find the a pissed off Dez shouting "Something told me to tell you! Don't give it to me!"

My personal favorite off this album has to be "Rowboat." It's a slow dark journey. Nothing is more creepy and it also has to be the stand-out song off the album. The entire album is fast and furious but by the time you hit the track of "Rowboat" everything slows down to a crawl. The line "Get out of my Rowboat!" keeps echoing in my mind for some reason.

The title track "Dark Days" is definately an adventure. My favorite line off this entire CD is "If it's meant to be, then set it free." For some reason that is so damn catchy and I just want to stand up and shout that line out. It also has a breakdown in the middle of the song that reminds me of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", where Dez repeats "Dark Days, dark days, dark days!" but in a possessed manner. Very cool.

Other killer tracks worth mentioning include "Watershed," "Friend?," and "Empty Jar." This is one disc you need to get. If you liked the first album a lot then you'll love Dark Days!

Until next time, later freaks!

By T-Bone