3 out of 5

Label: Epic

Produced by: Michael “Elvis” Baskette

While sharing the same producer as previous album ‘Thinking’ and still, as always, on Sony imprint Red, ‘Vena Sera,’ to me, was the turning point for the band, fully establishing themselves as in it for the long run.  And thankfully, a couple albums further along than this, that hasn’t proven to be In It by clinging to It: the group’s sound has continued to solidify into very much its own thing and the songwriting chops have just gotten stronger.  And Vena was the start of this.  It’s past the inevitably formulaic followup to their hit album Wonder What’s Next, and it’s an attempt to both embrace the screamy rock genre in which they belong while also forging ahead with some new ideas.

Bear in mind this is technically the group’s fourth album, so perhaps it’s just a tricksy way of bypassing the curse of the Third disc, which is normally when a group – after a successful debut – has delivered their similar-but-not-as-good singles on a sophomore disc, then decides to ‘reinvent’ themselves on number three, which… fails.  But Chevelle hit the big time with album number two, at which point the press sort of forgot about that first release, thus perhaps defeating this numbering system.  Driving the point home, though, Pete, Sam and new bassist Dead turn up the volume to drown out any doubts: Vena is the group’s loudest and most muscley discs.  It doesn’t even have the staple ‘acoustic’ track which, like, every major label hard rock album is supposed to have.  That the group was still around at this point pleased fans like me, and when I was hit by the heaviness of opener ‘Antisaint’ – and each track after that – it seemed like a very clear letter of intent stating that the group wasn’t going down without a fight.

This barrage does come at the sacrifice of truly memorable singles, though.  And perhaps that’s due to producer Baskette, whose name happens to be on the group’s two blander albums, but I also think it’s just the timing, having to followup a smash and then being present for the album on which your charge struggles to further define itself.  That being said, a stronger producer might’ve been able to shape the sound more effectively.  As delivered, Vena is a head-banging slab of non-stock, effective rockers, but there’s no gut-churning riffs as on Wonder, nor are there songs that don’t feel still leashed to the screamy rock template, from which the group would finally break free on the next release.

So the album holds a special place in my Chevelle-lovin’ heart.  It lacks a song that gets stuck in my head, but it’s the only album that’s turned up to 11 from start to finish.  And it definitely still sounds like Chevelle.  It’s a release that had to happen; whether the timing or production personnel was the main determinant in its lack of definition, you can still hear and feel the energy that’s kept the band rolling and evolving, and listening to it gives me a very clear memory of the joy I felt upon picking up the disc and giving it its first spin, realizing I was hearing the battle cry of a group here to stay.