I think it looks rather neat and suits the song just as well. That's fine and dandy, however, I still prefer the lyric video to “Rabbit Hole”, just saying. The track peaked at number nine on rock radio not long after it debuted.
Happy one year anniversary to these tracks and “Bright As Blasphemy” celebrates one year on August 15th, 2026.
According to Consequence of Sound: “‘History teaches us the longest rabbit hole has no end,’ the band succinctly said about the new song via a press release, following up the ominous message expressed in the prior single ‘Rabbit Hole (Cowards, Pt. 1).’ Themes of dystopian techno-futurism run through both songs, as well as the LP sleeve art and various track titles such as ‘AI Phobias’ an9d ‘Shocked at the End of the World.’”
“‘Human Existence encompasses both inherent challenges and potential,’ stated the band. ‘It’s up to you how to pass the time. Enjoy.’”
What I love about “BAB” is how seamlessly the catchy electronics blend in with the metal riffs all on one album. When Chevelle announced this new era I broke a sweat. This album is wonderful.
The concert movie is an accompaniment to “Live From The Road” captured at 2003's Ozzfest. These critical moments during the band's early years before their rise to stardom is something I wish I experienced, however, watching Chevelle live in 2017 was also super cool.
This DVD also features backstage and tour bus shenanigans any true fan would love. Distributed by Sony Legacy the show is available to anyone interested in experiencing the beginning of a band's journey through a murky industry. It's also available for streaming if that's what you prefer.
Watch a clip below:
Here's the story of three Memorial Day events starting on May 29th, 2017 with a New Moon on May 25th. My love for this band wasn't instant during the time “The Red” and “Send The Pain Below” dropped from “Wonder What's Next” in 2002-2003. However, car rides between shifts hit me like bricks when a song I thought sounded an awful lot like Muse's “Hysteria”, except with plenty of screaming, actually turned out to be “Joyride(Omen)” from 2016's “The North Corridor”. So…I bought tickets to a concert held on July 19th, 2017 after the DJ accosted me about snagging one before they sold out, and there I was, a face in the crowd, and I had so much fun wilding out to a nostalgic moment from my adolescence.
Nine years later it's so funny that the date of the New Moon 2017 and Memorial Day 2026, May 25th, comes back full circle of these boys making a sudden reappearance in my life out of nowhere, and changing the landscape of everything in this next era of my life. Take a listen to this track after you listen to “Jim Jones”.
Happy Memorial Day 2026!
Aside from various live performances on late night talk shows Chevelle also made scattered high-profile appearances across network TV, video game spots & promos as well as movies and such things. I remember the summer of 2002 when Chevelle debuted “The Red” and 2003 when they dropped “Send The Pain Below” before I fell off only to reunite in 2017. We're discussing TV spots in today's post.
While on the subject of network TV their smash debut single “The Red”, although overplayed to absolute death during its heyday, was used for sports promos and the Chicago trio performed this top single on Letterman, Craig Kilborn and Kimmel in the early 2000s.
Additional details for local tour spots and festivals include shows like Gary Cool TV, morning blitz and festival interviews.
“The Clincher”, the lead single from their 2004 album “This Type Of Thinking(Could Do Us In)”, was also used in a commercial and trailer for EA's Madden NFL 2005 while “Jars” was featured in “Tony Hawk: Ride”.
Sure, that's during their early career following the success of “Wonder What's Next”, but even 2021's “Niratias” saw its share of success when lead single “Self Destructor" was used heavily in TV and digital spots for “Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard”.
We await many more appearances in the near future! Read this old interview of Sam speaking with CWG Magazine!
Although Chevelle's "La Gargola” era was pretty minimal they made up for it with an extensive North American tour running from April and May into a month-long trek in December of 2014. They hit the road with Middle Class Rut in the spring and summer and winter runs accompanied by Crobot with hits and new material in hand.
Kicking things off in spring, May 17th, Chevelle stopped at The Egyptian Room in Indianapolis, The Pageant in St. Louis, and also appeared at major festivals like Rock On The Range.
A summer tour focused on the West Coast and Midwest at specific venues like The Fillmore in San Francisco and The Wiltern in Los Angeles.
In December Chevelle embarked on a winter tour beginning in South Carolina before concluding in Milwaukee.
Chevelle also toured extensively during the summer and autumn months of 2016 beginning on May 16th where they performed the usual stints of headlining dates and festivals, playing alongside Nothing More in the fall. This was two months before they dropped their eighth effort “The North Corridor” on July 8th. The Chicago trio also headlined dates in 2017 where I went to my first ever Chevelle show with Black Map and Dinosaur Pile-Up exactly the same week, fifteen years later, when “The Red” was released just shy of three days.
The outfit jammed several more shows scattered around the Midwest and Great Plains during summer of 2016 alongside Bush in July.
Another gathering happened at The Joint in Las Vegas, Nevada with Disturbed for an arena tour which kicked off on September 23rd.
Key highlights for Chevelle are Pointfest on May 21st and The Paramount in Huntington, New York on August 2nd. Stops at The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, Wyoming in October.
These dates officially began Dean Bernardini's ascent as Chevelle's replacement bassist after Joe's departure.
Chevelle initially dropped a fast paced glitchy lyric video for “Rabbit Hole(Cowards, Pt 1)” the same day the single debuted on their YouTube channel. Then they released a real video for the track on May 14th in black and white. The contrast is astounding!
According to Revolver, Pete and Sam have interesting opinions about what the video means to them.
“‘The sea was angry that day, my friends, for sometimes you cast your net and win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you just don't get that happy ending,’ the group wrote in a joint statement. ‘Either way enjoy the new 'Rabbit Hole' music video, friends!’”
“While we see Loeffler singing bits of the song, he mostly lays motionless on the beachline, up until another figure — played by Chevelle drummer and brother Sam Loeffler — strolls up with a fishing net. As you can see up above, the predator/prey narrative comes to a chilling conclusion.”
To be honest, I think I prefer the lyric video over the actual video for the song. However, depressing and chilling as it may be the clip does show maturity with the b&w aesthetic whereas the other clip is a fun and fast thrill ride. The difference is immense, but really shows the depressive state of affairs after a fun time.
Watch the clip below:
“Joyride(Omen)” is the lead single from Chevelle's eighth studio album “The North Corridor” released July of 2016. The track became their fifth number one on the Mainstream Rock chart, although a music video for this popular song is absent, the boys instead opted to release one for their second single “Door To Door Cannibals”. The song debuted May 13th, 2016.
"Yeah, it’s a little reminder to quit chasing the past or wishing for the future type situation. Maybe someone has come into your life like that where they’re always just saying how great it used to be or how it’s going to be good when this happens or they’re actually missing what’s going on in the here and now. And I guess it kind of comes from my teens and my youth and just from having a kid. We have a son. He’s almost two now. So now, you know I was being a dad and these things are coming up. They’re resurfacing and these memories from the past and it’s me just wondering what the world’s gonna be like when he’s older. I guess I was thinking about my younger days when I was writing this song and how I was. I had a lot of really good friends but I had a lot of people who were always, you know, they were searching a lot and everything was intense all the time, you know what I mean? And instead of enjoying life, they were constantly beating themselves down and I think I got pulled into that a little bit when I was in my teens and I guess it came out in song form in this song [Joyride], so it’s just something that no one can control. You might as well just live in the moment and enjoy it because you never know,” Pete says about this track.
Listen to the song below:
The Basement Tapes is Chevelle's original demo written and recorded in 1998. It features four tracks, one of which is the well known “Commuter” co-written by the former bassist Dean Bernardini before joining in 2006 after Joe's departure, and this is also the first track Pete ever wrote. I'm actually surprised it didn't make the final cut of “Point#1”, but this is also my favorite song from the bunch.
There's a Reddit thread with links to cleaned remasters of these very old tracks if you're interested in listening to them and they're also available on YouTube. It helps to use a good pair of ear buds instead of the disposable kind from Dollar Tree because I can't hear anything over the lingering fuzz from all the distortion. Although the production isn't the best it's still a good peek into early Chevelle.
The Blue Album is the follow up to their previous demo featuring four familiar tracks Chevelle used on “Point #1” and two others many Chevelle fans, especially newbies, may not know about: “Tom” and “Tetelestai” close out this effort. My favorite songs are “Peer” and acoustic number “Tom”.
Aside from these tapes there's another three-track demo uploaded to YouTube in 2018 featuring “Found”, another one of my favorite songs, a reworking of “Tetelestai” and another unknown track. Everything leading up to “Point #1” is a great listen if you have the time.
Go on Google and/or YouTube and research these demos for yourself. Always a fun time listening to anything Chevelle makes.
Chevelle toured across thirty eight cities in North America in support of their tenth album “Bright As Blasphemy”, their debut on new label Alchemy Recordings, from August 7th to October 2nd, 2025 alongside Dead Poet Society and Asking Alexandria.
The first of a three part run for this album cycle began in San Antonio, Texas and concluded with one final show at Northern Quest in Airway Heights, Washington ~ BECU Live.
The setlist melted together older material with brand new tracks with trademark staples “The Red”, “Send The Pain Below” and highlights “Pale Horse” and other newer songs. Festival appearances include Sonic Temple and Aftershock.
The second part of this tour alongside Breaking Benjamin and Starset kicked off May 15th in Columbus Ohio at Sonic Temple and concludes July 17th when they go overseas in London, UK at the O2 Academy Brixton supporting Breaking Ben concluding the summer leg for 2026.
The final run for fall dates begins September 2nd in Camden, New Jersey at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion and ends on October 20th in Bristow, Iowa at Jiffy Lube Live.
Tickets for this event are still available via Live Nation and Ticketmaster outlets.
The third and last single from Chevelle's eighth studio album “The North Corridor” is none other than “Rivers” released on May 9th, 2017. This was at least two weeks before I walked into my new chapter as a newly converted Chevelle fan, but not only that, I was accosted by a radio DJ about snagging the last remaining tickets to their upcoming concert, and by July I was whisked away to my very first Chevelle show.
“I really want to make a really heavy record this time around, go back to our [2002’s] ‘Wonder What’s Next’ roots a little bit. And it’s what we like to play live, so it just made sense. Sam and Dean love heavy music as well; Sam likes a lot of hardcore, screamo stuff, so he was happy with that. They basically let me go and agreed that heavy was a good way to go.”
“This record was not easy. This record was tough,” he tells Billboard. “I basically didn’t know if we were ever gonna finish it. It was almost like I wasn’t happy with anything. There were a few songs that I knew were great ideas, and yet I couldn’t put them out the way they were, so we actually had a point of crisis in the studio. We had some depressing moments there. I literally left L.A. without (‘Last Days’) done and I came home and worked on it at my house and added all these new parts and emailed them off to Joe Barresi. I think I was over-complicating the whole thing but I’m happy that it worked out.”
“The dynamic, ebb-and-flowing ‘Rivers,’ on the other hand, came much easier for Chevelle. ‘That’s one of the songs that Sam really grabbed onto and likes a lot,’ says Loeffler, whose photo of his two-year-old son graces the cover of the Deluxe Edition of The North Corridor. ‘It’s got that sort of Spanish-style guitar in the beginning and sort of an Italian vibe in the middle and it’s got this heavy aspect to it, so it’s got the light and it’s got the heavy and then it’s got an epic ending. You finish an album and you don’t even want to look at it, but it’s been a couple of months now and I was driving the other day and I put it on and I had to pull over and text my brother and say, ‘Dude, I have to say good job on (‘Rivers’). It’s hard to have a clear perspective when you’re in the thick of it. And that’s one I can’t wait to play live.’”
Listen to the song below:
Although Chevelle released singles from their extensive ten album discography not every single was turned into a plot-based music video, visualizers, lyric videos, performances, and official audio included, but at least a myriad of singles fall into this category. Here are the top fourteen missing music videos that were actually singles.
Until You're ReformedPanic Prone
Same Old Trip
Hunter Eats Hunter
An Island
Take Out The Gunman
Joyride(Omen)
Rivers
Fizgig
Sleep Walking Elite
In Debt To The Earth
Peach
Pale Horse
Jim Jones(Cowards, Pt 2)
What's your favorite non-music video that was a single? My personal favorites are “An Island”, “Fizgig”, and “Jim Jones(Cowards, Pt 2)”.
Enjoy the clip below of Chevelle performing “Same Old Trip” on Kimmel.
Unfortunately, the label went under which forced the Loefflers to sign with Epic Records before eventually landing a deal with Alchemy Recordings. The band's debut achieved only minor success compared to its follow up 2002's “Wonder What's Next” which impressively stacked units atop of units. So, hooray for youth!
I know some may not like the overall sonic quality of “Point #1”, Pete doesn't either, but I really do love it. “Mia” and “Peer” are my most favorite tracks on the album but you're free to disagree, if you'd like. Also, the video for title track “Open” + “Point #1” are super campy, and who doesn't love fire?
“Point #1”, along with “Wonder What's Next” and “This Type Of Thinking(Could Do Us In)”, are the only albums, along with both demos “The Basement Tapes” and “The Blue Album”, to feature former bassist, younger Loeffler brother Joe, after original member Matt Scott parted ways with the duo in 1996. The first song Pete ever composed for “The Basement Tapes” called "Commuter" was actually co-written with Joe's 2006 replacement Dean Bernardini.
I love “Point #1” because it's so nostalgic and retro and all other adjectives to describe something old but awesome. Two singles taken from the album were "Open + Point #1" and "Mia".
“Mars Simula” was the last of five singles to be released from Chevelle's ninth studio album “Niratias”, and both debuted on May 1st, 2021. This record always felt like the sequel to “Sci-Fi Crimes” if it'd been a concept album, but “Niratias”, unlike the band's past records, is totally a concept album track to track. Themes covered in this effort are interstellar travel, loss and the past.
Pete said in many interviews about taking an interest in Elon Musk's mission to Mars. He shared a bit of this sentiment with Blabbermouth after the album dropped in 2021.
“I love the idea of the cosmos and I love Carl Sagan and Elon Musk and Neil deGrasse Tyson and all these people that look beyond and look to the future. Getting off this planet is part of that future if we can do it. It's funny when you started to delve into it how difficult that really is. How are you gonna deal with radiation out in a spaceship for nine months or longer than that? It's fascinating. It just made its way into the music."
“Pete previously told ‘Loudwire Nights’' about the overall lyrical direction of ‘Niratias’: ‘It has a lot of space to it, a lot of interstellar travel to it. You've got Elon Musk trying to get to Mars and that was completely fascinating to me so when I write lyrics, it's just kind of made its way in there. As you'll see with the cover, it's sort of space themed as well.’”
“‘Niratias’ bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. It debuted at No. 9, and was the first new release to chart within the Top 10 in over three weeks. In addition, ‘Niratias’ achieved several other accolades. The LP impressively debuted at No. 1 on several Billboard charts, including Rock Album, Alternative Album, Hard Music, Overall Album, Digital Album and Internet Album. ‘Self Destructor’, the album's acclaimed lead single, also reached the summit of the Active Rock radio chart this week, marking Chevelle's 12th number one single at the format.”
Chevelle toured across thirty eight cities in North America in support of their tenth album “Bright As Blasphemy”, their debut o...
