CHIMAIRA Frontman: 'We're Writing And Playing Better Than Ever'

CHIMAIRA frontman Mark Hunter recently spoke to MTV.com about the group's upcoming album, "Resurrection", due in the U.S. on March 6, 2007 via Ferret Music.

"We named the album 'Resurrection' because that's exactly what it was," Hunter said. "When we talked, we got everything off our chests and out of our systems, and now we're friends again. And we're writing and playing better than ever."

While 2005's "Chimaira" was mostly written by guitarist Rob Arnold, this time Hunter and guitarist Matt DeVries shared the songwriting duties, resulting in a far more eclectic album that ranges from simple and driving to complex and meandering. "It's a bit all over the place in a good way," Hunter said. "I think it's a good combination of [2003's] 'The Impossibility of Reason' and the self-titled record. But I think that there's so much more energy behind it because everyone was so excited to be back together."

In addition to being more diverse, many of the songs are also longer. Hunter said the average track length is six minutes, and one number clocks in at 10 minutes. At the same time, he insisted that the progressive arrangements don't detract from the hookiness of the album.

"It's super-catchy without being FALL OUT BOY or something," Hunter said. "There are really fantastic hooks that people are gonna latch on to right away as opposed to the last album where it might take you a few listens to get what we were doing. And it's not one of those records where you get it right away, and then three days later you're done with it. This is something you're gonna want to listen to over and over again. I say that because I don't listen to our records, but this record is still in my CD player."

Read the rest of the article at MTV.com.