Chimaira is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio that was founded in 1998. The band is noted as being part of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, recording their debut EP This Present Darkness in 2000 produced by Ben Schigel, which ultimately got them signed to Roadrunner Records where they released Pass Out of Existence, their first full length, next followed by 2003’s The Impossibility of Reason. The group’s drummer Andols Herrick next decided to leave the act, due to being tired of touring life and went back to school to receive a music degree. The act released a self-titled effort in 2005 without him, but at the start of 2006 welcomed him back into the lineup. Subsequently, Roadrunner released the act from their label, which led the band to next unleash in 2007 what most fans define to this point as their crowning achievement entitled Resurrection.
In 2009, they have returned with The Infection, another solid collection of songs, that continues to showcase one of the best heavy metal drummers in the world today.
The Infection was released worldwide April 21, 2009 via Ferret/Nuclear Blast and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard 200.
The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody has conducted an EXCLUSIVE interview with Andols Herrick of CHIMAIRA for TMD’s ever loyal following of DEN HEADZ all across the globe!
Rocket: Where were you born and raised?
Andols: I have lived my whole life in Ohio, most of it in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville.
Rocket: Do you come from a big family?
Andols: I’d say my family is average size. I have two brothers, one older and one younger. I started playing drums because of my older brother, who is a ridiculously good musician. My younger brother plays as well. He just finished college as a music major and is incredibly talented as well.
Rocket: What bands first drew you to heavy music?
Andols: My gateway band was Metallica, probably when I was thirteen years old. From there, I branched out into Anthrax, Slayer, Pantera, and Sepultura.
Rocket: When did you first start playing drums?
Andols: I started playing drums when I was nine.
Rocket: Did you ever take any formal drumming lessons?
Andols: I took lessons from when I started through when I was about nineteen in college.
Rocket: Who are a few of your biggest drumming influences?
Andols: My favorite drummers would be Mike Portnoy, Gene Hoglan, and Derek Roddy. Early influences would include Lars Ulrich, Charlie Benante and Igor Cavalera.
Rocket: Can you please give us the specs on your drum kit?
Andols: First, make & model of kit is
Ddrum Dominion Ash Pocket in Blackburst
Second, diameter x shell depth of each drum.
Toms : 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 8″
Floor Toms: 14″ x 12″ and 16″ x 12″
Kicks: 20″ x 20″
Snare: 13″ x 7″
Third, model name + diameter of each cymbal is
all Sabian
17″ and 19″ AAX Metal Crashes
18″ and 20″ AA Metal-X Chinese
12″ AA Mini-Chinese
15″ AA Hi Hats
22″ HH Power Bell Ride
Fourth, brand of sticks, heads, and hardware:
Ahead Sticks (2B)
Evans Heads: G2 Clear
Gibraltar Rack
Fifth, any auxiliary percussion, drum pads, triggers,
Alesis DM5
Ddrum bass drum triggers
Rocket: How many hours on average are you practicing on the drums daily?
Andols: Unfortunately, it really doesn’t happen lately. Outside of playing shows and rehearsals, that’s the extent of my playing. I did some pretty fierce practicing when I first rejoined the band though.
Rocket: I really love your drumming work on the new Chimaira album entitled “The Infection”. Did you have a good experience with the recording process?
Andols: The recording went very smoothly for me. Everything from setup to tear down took three days. I did about four songs each day, and the rest of the time was spent doing whatever editing needed to be done.
Rocket: Of all the Chimaira albums you’ve played on, which one was your personal favorite?
Andols: I think Resurrection is probably the biggest one for me. It was my first new album with the band, and I was really proud of everything on it.
Rocket: What is your favorite Chimaira song to play live and why?
Andols: I love playing anything new, since playing the same songs over and over can get pretty stale. As for the old ones, I’d say “Pure Hatred” is a favorite. It always gets a great crowd response.
Rocket: I like to have fun with this next one. What’s the most embarassing thing that’s ever happened to you while performing on the stage?
Andols: It’s hard to pick out one monumentally embarassing thing that’s happened on stage. I botched a song one time live, and we had to stop and Mark had the crowd say “Andols fucked up!” Another time one of my bass drum triggers accidentally got changed to a ride cymbal sound for an entire song.
Rocket: Your band has currently been on the Music For A Weapon 4 Tour. How has that been?
Andols: It’s been great. It’s wrapping up now, and it’s been an awesome experience. Hopefully, we’re making a lot of new fans in the process.
Rocket: Who are some of the younger upcoming metal bands of today that impress you enough to mention?
Andols: I don’t really pay a lot of attention to the music scene. Most of the time when I’m home, I listen to news, talk radio, or sports.
Rocket: What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to a kid starting out on his first drum kit and looking to embark on the rock n roll dream?
Andols: It takes a lot of dedication, time, and really a lot of luck as well. This is a difficult time to make a name for yourself in music, so you really got to put out a quality product. Keep practicing!
Rocket: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Andols: Well, if Chimaira is still relevant and doing well, than obviously I’d be fortunate to still be doing this. If not this, I’d probably be doing something fitness related.
Rocket: Thanks very much for rocking this out with me. Best of luck with it all moving forward. Go ahead and give special thanks out to any of your friends, family and supporters.
Andols: Thanks very much, Rocket. Thanks to all our fans, and I hope you all pick up and enjoy The Infection.
http://www.myspace.com/chimaira
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