COAL CHAMBER To Announce New-Album Plans On Monday?

COAL CHAMBER, the reformed '90s alt-metal band fronted by current DEVILDRIVER singer Dez Fafara, will make an announcement on Monday, August 11. Speculation is that COAL CHAMBER will reveal that it has signed a new record deal and will shortly begin work on its first studio album since 2002's "Dark Days".

Bassist Nadja Peulen rejoined COAL CHAMBER in November 2013. She said in a statement: "I've missed my brothers and can't wait to rock the stage with them again and see all of you!"

Peulen returned to COAL CHAMBER following the departure of Canadian bassist Chela Rhea Harper, who joined the band in late 2011 and toured with the group for nearly two years.

COAL CHAMBER and SEVENDUST last year took part in a U.S. co-headlining tour. Also appearing on the bill was LACUNA COIL.

In an interview with the WGRD 97.9 FM radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dez Fafara stated about the possibility of new music from COAL CHAMBER: "[In September 2012], [guitarist Miguel Rascón and drummer Mike Cox] sent me some new tunes and said, 'Hey, would you ever think about doing a new record? Here's some new tunes.' And they were absolutely killer. They were moving forward with their sound, but yet you could tell it was COAL CHAMBER, but it wasn't so linear."

Regarding why neither of the two former COAL CHAMBER bassists — Nadja Peulen or Rayna Foss — had been involved in the band's reunion up until the end of last year, Dez told Full Metal Jackie in a separate interview, "Rayna was not [asked to be a part of it]. Rayna has been out of the band for a very long time. We did speak to Nadja. She [had] other things going and it wasn't really in the headspace where we were at as a band."

COAL CHAMBER rose to prominence with a gold-certified debut album in 1997 that established the group as one of the most promising bands on the then-emerging, so-called "nu metal" scene.

Peulen replaced Foss in 1999 during Rayna's pregnancy for almost 12 months while the band was on the road supporting its second album, "Chamber Music". Rayna came back to the band after her pregnancy leave and recorded COAL CHAMBER's third album, "Dark Days". Shortly after recording "Dark Days", Rayna quit the band and Nadja was recruited for the touring cycle that followed the CD's release. The band broke up during the "Dark Days" tour in 2002 and reunited nine years later.