On one hand, The Infection, Chimaira’s new album, is muscular and bruising in a traditional metal sense, with tight, hammering riffs and a visceral vocal violence. On the other, The Infection also boasts intense moods, subtlety, and nuance, words not often associated with trad-metal.

“When we got together to start writing for the record,” says lead guitarist Rob Arnold, “the new material had this darker, doomier, vibe to it that we didn’t pick up on until later.”

Those initial writing sessions laid the foundation for the rest of the album. “We latched onto it,” says rhythm guitarist Matt DeVries, “when we realized that it gave us more room to breathe as players.”

Longtime fans of the Cleveland band, together nearly 10 years now, know that they’ve always had a progressive element. “As we’ve become tighter, we started exploring a more technical side,” says Arnold. ”We like to think of ourselves first as great songwriters in this heavy metal world.”

One thing that the band’s songwriters didn’t include this time out was a lot of shred-style soloing. Whereas the previous album featured at least one solo in most of every song, this one totals only a couple. “The funny thing is,” Arnold admits, “we didn’t notice there weren’t a lot of solos.”

Wankers might be surprised at this admission, but both Arnold and DeVries have higher goals for Chimaira. “I believe we satisfy ourselves through the riffs,” Arnold says, “and other things like different time signatures and creative ways of transitioning between riffs. We get more of a high off of that. It’s not like, ‘All right, I’ve got to rip a solo here,’ anymore.”

The album’s dearth of single-note excursions doesn’t mean, however, that the two didn’t push themselves to the technical limit. “Rob definitely challenges me,” says DeVries. “As a rhythm player, I rely on my right hand a lot. So he pushes me to be more note-y on my left hand.”

Arnold also likes a challenge. “I feel like I’ve been pushing myself as a player for 20 years, just knowing that we had to do something better on this record than we did on the last one. You live and learn.”

GUITARS:
BOTH: ESP with EMG pickups, Dean Markley strings (.011– .056), Intune GrippX picks, DiMarzio Cliplock straps, Guitar-Cable.com cables, Peavey PCX U-1002 wireless
AMPS:
BOTH: Peavey 6505+ and 5150 II heads, Mesa Boogie cabs
EFFECTS:
ARNOLD: Furman SBP-8C pedalboard, Dunlop Wylde wah, Boss DD-3 and TU-2, Digitech CF-7, Whammy pedal and GSP 1101 multi-effects
DEVRIES: ISP Decimator (Noise Reduction), Furman PL Plus Series II power conditioner