CHEVELLE Has Seven Songs Written For Next Studio Album

At this month's Aftershock festival in Sacramento, CHEVELLE drummer Sam Loeffler spoke to Knotfest's Cori Westbrook about the band's plans for the follow-up to last year's "Niratias" LP. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, [CHEVELLE vocalist/guitarist] Pete's [Loeffler] our songwriter so he's our lyricist and everything. Basically, he just writes about what's going on around him. If he's taking the garbage out that night or has a bad day driving, he's watching a documentary that really affected him, he hears a podcast — so he's writing about those kinds of things. So if you're able to internalize that kind of a thing, I think you have a lot to write about. It doesn't just have to be a relationship that — a relationship with your dad or your significant other. I think those are some pretty powerful feelings — I get it — but if you are able to bring in all those other things in from your everyday life, there's a lot more to write about. So as far as inspiration goes, it's not hard to find; it's everywhere; it's all around you. And especially nowadays, we have so much access to what's going on around us that there's even more ideas to pull from."

He continued: "Yeah, we're always writing; Pete's always writing. We've got seven songs or so together-ish and then about 45 more ideas. But he has hundreds and hundreds of ideas from years. And you can't use all those songs because your tastes change, especially over years and years and years. So you're, like, 'Well, this was a great song five years ago. I really liked it. Now I don't like it at all.'"

In a separate interview with Heavy New York, Sam said that he and Pete have "a whole bunch of music written now that we're trying to put together another record for '23. Because that's what we do — you put music out, you write… It'll be our first record in a long time not with a major label, which is just neither here nor there," he added. "Epic Records did a lot of good stuff; we were with them for a long time, but we're finished with that contract now. So now we're doing something different. And we'll see how different it is."

This past June, Sam told New Jersey's WSOU 89.5 FM radio station that he and his bandmates were hoping to "get into the studio in November/December, which is the thing that excites us. We wanna write, we wanna play — that's our thing," he said. "So if we can get music out in '23, because that's what we do — we put out music, and hopefully we can keep new music coming out for the rest of our career. Keep going. We're not old, so we're just gonna keep doing it."

In April, CHEVELLE canceled one concert and postponed another after Sam tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

CHEVELLE had been touring in support of its ninth album, "Niratias", which was released in March 2021 via Epic Records.

"Niratias" is one of CHEVELLE's most provocative records to date. Teaming with longtime producer Joe Barresi (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE),CHEVELLE recorded throughout 2019 and 2020 and ultimately pieced together an inimitable body of work. The album artwork was designed by Boris Vallejo — the famed and award-winning artist is responsible for the posters used for films like "Knightriders" and "National Lampoon's Vacation", as well as iconic '70s and '80s science fiction novel covers and magazines (such as Heavy Metal).

Over the course of its career, the Chicago rockers have generated nearly half a billion streams, notched seven No. 1 hits, and sold out shows worldwide. Their catalog spans the double-platinum "Wonder What's Next", which boasts the double-platinum smash "The Red" and the platinum hit "Send The Pain Below". "This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In)" attained platinum status, while "Vena Sera" was certified gold. CHEVELLE has landed four Top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200, including "Sci-Fi Crimes" (2009),"Hats Off To The Bull" (2011),"La Gárgola" (2014) and "The North Corridor" (2016). The latter two each captured the No. 1 slot on the Top Rock Albums chart.