About Coal Chamber

Coal Chamber is an American nu metal band formed by Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón in Los Angeles in 1992, initially under the name She's in Pain. The original lineup also consisted of bassist Rayna Foss and drummer Jon Tor. Mike Cox replaced Tor on drums in 1995, and the Coal Chamber lineup was complete. After signing to Roadrunner Records, they released their debut album, Coal Chamber, in 1997.

Chamber Music followed two years later and featured the band's only charting single in the US, a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey", featuring Ozzy Osbourne as a guest vocalist. Their third album, Dark Days, was released in the spring of 2002. Nadja Peulen temporarily replaced Foss on bass for touring commitments, before joining on a permanent basis in 2002. Coal Chamber disbanded in 2003, after ten years together, and then reunited in 2011, with the lineup of Fafara, Cox, and Rascón, along with Chela Rhea Harper on bass. Peulen rejoined the band on bass in 2013, and Coal Chamber released their fourth album, Rivals, in 2015, before disbanding again in 2016. They then reunited a second time in 2022.

Coal Chamber was originally formed in 1992 under the name She's in Pain by vocalist Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascón, based on a mutual love for the Sisters of Mercy. After a few shows, they decided to change the band's lineup, and they adopted their present name in 1993. Bassist Rayna Foss was recruited through a newspaper ad. According to Foss, the band at the time was named "Coal", while Rascón wanted to name it "Chamber", and they ended up combining the two words. The band had two drummers in the two-and-a-half years prior to their signing with a label, the longest-lasting being John Tor.

In late 1994, Dino Cazares of Fear Factory championed a demo tape by Coal Chamber, causing a huge local stir with gigs at the Roxy Theatre and Whisky a Go Go, eventually leading Roadrunner Records to offer the band a contract. Fafara dropped out quite suddenly due to disagreements with his wife about the band. In early 1995, he reunited with Coal Chamber, which ended his marriage but revitalized the band. With a renewed sense of energy, Coal Chamber was able to regain their deal with Roadrunner, which they signed in December 1995. A few weeks prior, John Tor was fired for "constantly fighting" with Rascón, per Fafara. Around the same time, they auditioned Mikey Cox and his brother, hiring the former as their new drummer.

In 1996, Coal Chamber played at the first Ozzfest. The band managed to catch the attention of Ozzy Osbourne's wife, Sharon, who became their manager. They recorded their first album, Coal Chamber, which was released on February 11, 1997. The record produced one single and a video, "Loco", directed by Nathan "Karma" Cox. The video was included as an extra after the ending credits of Dee Snider's film Strangeland. The band also recorded an exclusive song for the soundtrack, titled "Not Living". The album only sold 844 copies in its first week; at its peak, it was selling 5,000 copies per week. On December 21, 1999, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America , signifying over 500,000 copies sold.

In 1997, the band toured Europe with Machine Head, Napalm Death, and Skinlab, including a show at the Dynamo Festival in the Netherlands. Coal Chamber also supported Pantera on tour from September through December 1997, along with Anthrax. Also, in 1997 and 1998, the band opened for Megadeth during the Cryptic Writings tour.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Coal Chamber", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.