Sam and Pete Loefller
Chevelle is a hard rock band from Grayslake, Illinois. Formed in 1995, the band consisted of three brothers: Pete Loeffler (guitar, vocals), Sam (drums), and Joe (bass). They're named after the Chevy Chevelle, a car that the brothers' dad liked.With their second album, Wonder What's Next and its breakthrough singles, "The Red" and "Send the Pain Below", Chevelle achieved great mainstream success. If you listen to any Alternative music station regularly, you've probably heard several of their songs. The band's style features heavy, down-tuned riffs, a driving rhythm section and Pete Loeffler's versatile singing, which can jump from a serene whisper to a shout in a moment's notice. Joe left the band in 2005 for disputed reasons and was replaced by Dean Bernardini, Pete and Sam's brother-in-law. In 2019, he left the band.
Discography:
- Point #1 (1999)
- Wonder What's Next (2002)
- This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) (2004)
- Vena Sera (2007)
- Sci-Fi Crimes (2009)
- Hats Off to the Bull (2011)
- Stray Arrows - A Collection of Favorites (2012)
- La Gárgola (2014)
- The North Corridor (2016)
- NIRATIAS (2021)
Tropes Off to the Bull:
- All of the Other Reindeer: "The Red". "They say freak, when you're singled out".
- Alternative Metal: An example that (usually) leans a little more towards the "alternative" part. Their mid-2010s albums are heavier with stronger metal influences.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The crimes of the people in the video for "The Fad" range from inventing e-mail spam and robbing old ladies to "wearing bikini briefs".
- Band of Relatives: Originally a straight Type 2 (all brothers), becoming a modified Type 2 from 2005 (two brothers plus brother-in-law), all the way to 2019 until Dean's departure, leading them back to normal Type 2 since the band hasn't officially filled the bassist role at the time of this writing.
- Canon Discontinuity: While they don't hate Point No. 1, the band has stated that the following record Wonder What's Next is officially their "first" album.
- Careful with That Axe: Sing it, everybody: SEEING RED AGAIN! SEEING RED AGAIN!
- "Well Enough Alone" starts with an ax murder Metal Scream, and it can easily scare the crap out of an unprepared listener... especially if you're listening to Vena Sera in order for the first time, where this track comes right after the subdued ending of "Saferwaters".
- Concept Album: NIRATIAS is built around interstellar travel; Pete has described one of the album's inspirations being Elon Musk and his plans for space travel.
- Darker and Edgier: They seem to have developed this in the mid-2010s. La Gárgola and The North Corridor present overall harder sounds than before, with Pete's vocals often being covered by instruments.
- Determinator: "Hats Off to the Bull" which is about never giving up, just like a bull in a bullfight.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The video to "I Get It". Did your boss refuse to let you use the "winner's" elevator and steal your sandwich? Time to have him stalked by a clown, beaten up by a UFC champion, and tattooed with the words "Mr. Perfect" on his forehead.
- Dysfunctional Family: The subject of "Family System".
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Point #1 is much more raw than later works, in part due to Steve Albini's production. Pete's vocals are also different and the entire album has more of a debt to tool's sound than succeeding albums.
- Epic Rocking: "Shot from a Cannon", the last track on The North Corridor, is a little over eight minutes long.
- Gratuitous Latin: The album title Vena Sera, which literally translates to "in like vein", although
Word of God gives "vein liquid" (i.e. blood) as the intended meaning. - Indecipherable Lyrics: On the first listen, it can be nearly impossible to understand anything Pete is singing in "The Fad".
- Intercourse with You: "Pinata".
- The Invisible Band: The band members don't appear in the videos for "Mia", which features creepy claymation, and "I Get It".
- Lighter and Softer: "One Lonely Visitor" and "Bend the Bracket". NIRATIAS in its entirety was intended to return to more melodic material after The North Corridor.
- "One Ocean" and "Twinge" from La Gárgola as well, being mellow atmospheric songs reminiscent of Deftones at their softest, and "Endlessly" from the aforementioned NIRATIAS being a softer track reminiscent to art rock.
- Long-Runner Line-up: Both previous line-ups qualify; one is a Type 2.
- Love Martyr: The protagonist of "Send the Pain Below" is being emotionally abused, but claims to like it, presumably from being used to it.
- Madness Mantra: SEEING RED AGAIN! SEEING RED AGAIN! SEEING RED AGAIN! SEEING RED AGAIN! SEEING RED AGAIN! SEEING RED AGAIN! SEEING RED AGAIN!
- Misanthrope Supreme: The speaker of "Saferwaters" despises humanity so much he would like to just devolve and crawl back into the primordial ocean.
- Monster Clown: The video for "The Fad" has a gang of clowns kidnapping people and beating them up. Not entirely played straight, as the people were wrongdoers being taught a lesson and are freed afterwards. The "I Get It" video also has a clown in it.
- Mr. Fanservice: Pete and Joe, when he was in the band.
- One-Woman Song: "Mia". Incidentally, someone named Mia is thanked by the band in the liner notes to their first two albums.
- Performance Video: Almost all of the band's videos feature them playing the song in some context. "Letter From a Thief" consists entirely of this.
- Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Pete on Point #1 before his Vocal Evolution.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: "The Red", a play on the phrase "seeing red".
- Rock Trio
- Ripped from the Headlines: In a departure from their usual style, "Face to the Floor" is about the Bernie Madoff scandal.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Pete and Sam in the "Self-Destructor" music video.
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: They have put at least one acoustic song on each album, except Vena Sera.
- Surreal Music Video: The clip for "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)" appears to be this, with the lead singer floating through bizarre landscapes, along with the band performing in a hospital room, and some other random imagery. If you know what the song is about, it all makes sense, since the video represents the hallucinations sometimes experienced by people addicted to Ritalin.
- Take That!:
- A couple songs from Vena Sera, such as "Brainiac" and "Well Enough Alone" are thought to be shots at ex-bassist Joe, who left (or was kicked out) under acrimonious conditions.
- "Wonder What's Next" from the eponymous album seems to be one to the entire music industry - or perhaps only Epic Records, who had recently signed them.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Joe, in several of the band's videos.
- Word Salad Lyrics: The lyrics are usually pretty oblique, although unlike Maynard James Keenan, Pete doesn't shy away from explaining what certain songs are about.
