CHEVELLE Frontman Explains New Album Delay

CHEVELLE vocalist/guitarist Pete Loeffler and drummer Sam Loeffler spoke to Rock 100.5 The KATT's Cameron Buchholtz about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's new album. The disc was recorded in part this past May at Joe's House Of Compression studio in Pasadena, California with producer Joe Barresi (KYUSS, MELVINS, THE JESUS LIZARD).

Asked why CHEVELLE hasn't released a new single yet, despite previously announcing that a new song was forthcoming, Pete said: "Well, things take longer than we thought as well." Sam chimed in: "Yeah, we did a pretty long summer tour, so that kind of just changed our plans. But it's just pushed back a few months. It just gives a little bit more time to…"

Continued Pete: "Yeah, the good thing is the music will be that much better at the end of the day… The thing is, the more time you spend with it, the more you realize what it needs. So, instead of rushing it and doing this long tour, we were, like, 'Well, maybe we'll just take a little more time,' and it'll come out next year."

The interview took place on December 4 backstage at Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City during what is being billed as longtime CHEVELLE bassist Dean Bernardini's last tour with the band. Asked if Dean played on the upcoming disc, Pete said: "See, that's the thing — I can't really comment on that, because the record may be done twice. I don't know. That's the thing — when you have actual time, I might scrap the whole damn thing and redo it, and it'll be that much better. This is our tenth full-length album, but only because of the B-sides. But when you get to the later part of your career, if you're lucky to do that, you want it to be that much better. So, it's fuckin' hard, man."

Pete also spoke about his previous comment that CHEVELLE's next album was turning out to be a more melodic affair than 2016's "The North Corridor".

"I mean, that's the thing," he said. "You wake up… Everyone has to choose. You're, like, 'Am I gonna be in a good or a bad mood today?' At least in my family, we do… So, on the last two albums, it's been, like, I woke up and I was, like, 'I wanna play heavy shit.' And that's where we've been. But, honestly, the music is way more melodic on this one."

Earlier this year, Pete said that he wrote "about 25 songs" for CHEVELLE's new album, but that only eight had been recorded so far.

"The North Corridor" debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart and produced a No. 1 Mainstream Rock single, "Joyride (Omen)".

The band's album of rarities from 2002-2016, "12 Bloody Spies: B-Sides And Rarities", was released in October 2018 via Epic.