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Mark Hunter | |
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 Hunter performing with Chimaira in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Metal Moses |
| Born | May 26, 1977 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | Groove metal, metalcore, nu metal |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Member of | Chimaira |
Mark Hunter (born May 26, 1977) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Chimaira. [1]
Hunter was born in Parma Heights, Ohio, on May 26, 1977.
Hunter started Chimaira in 1998. [2] The band has sold over a million albums worldwide [3] and have debuted on the Billboard 200 Chart six times. [4] 2013's Crown of Phantoms debuted at number 54 selling over 7,400 copies in its first week of release. [5] Hunter was one of the main songwriters for Chimaira and considered the band leader. He is also credited in the album liner notes for assisting with guitars, artwork concepts and album production. [6] [7] [8]
He was the only original member of Chimaira after departures in 2010 and 2011. [7] [9] Cleveland Scene nicknamed Hunter "Metal Moses" in 2002 for his popularization of the Wall of Death [10]
Hunter has cited Stanley Kubrick, Gaspar Noé, Trent Reznor, and Slayer to be among some of his influences. Some inspiration for lyrical content was drawn from Hunter's love of movies. Beyond the Black Rainbow , Fire Walk with Me , and The Shining have been mentioned in numerous interviews. [11] [12]
Hunter practiced Muay Thai and was featured in the July 2008 edition of Fight! Magazine, and the April 2009 edition of MMA Weekly .
Chimaira and director Nick Cavalier released the documentary Down Again in 2018, in which Hunter shares his struggle with bipolar disorder as well as his interest in photography.
Hunter was diagnosed with thyroid cancer but is now in remission after a full thyroidectomy.
Hunter wrote regular columns for Revolver magazine and GunShyAssassin. Some of topics included meditation, travel, and nutrition. He also penned the liner notes for The Best of Mercyful Fate .
In 2011, Hunter took to his Twitter and Facebook accounts to discuss his frustration with the music industry resulting in praise from fellow musicians and journalists.
Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1984 by guitarist and vocalist Chuck Schuldiner. Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal music and a pioneering force in death metal. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.
STEMM is an American metal band from Niagara Falls, New York. STEMM was formed in 1998 by Joe Cafarella. He, along with Louie and Jimi Penque, Russ Martin, and Alex Scouten made up the original lineup of the band. Alex left the band in 1999, and was briefly replaced by guitarist Fred Blackwell. Rich Spalla replaced Fred shortly after. This lineup remained intact until 2003. Joe and Rich merged with drummer Danny Nelligan, bassist Stephen Crowl, and vocalist TJ Frost of Buffalo band 5 Years Gone, to create a new incarnation of the band. This lineup also saw a change in the musical direction of the band from Rapcore to more of a metal act.
Benjamin A. Weinman is an American musician, film composer, and music manager, most notable for being the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of the mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. He was the founder and sole constant member through the band's career (1997–2017), and is currently playing rhythm guitar with the crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies and the progressive rock supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.
Darkest Hour is an American metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1995. Though failing to break through early in their tenure, the band has received acclaim for their albums Undoing Ruin, Deliver Us, and The Eternal Return. Deliver Us debuted at number 110 on the Billboard album charts, with sales of 6,600, and their more recent effort The Eternal Return garnered them an even higher position in the Billboard album charts at number 104. Their latest album Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora charted at 42 on the Billboard 200, a peak for the band, and it marked a stylistic shift in the band's discography.
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with metalcore/hardcore elements seen in the 1990s, deathcore itself emerged in the early 2000s and gained prominence beginning in the mid-2000s within the southwestern United States, especially Arizona and inland southern California, which are home to many notable bands and various festivals.
The Impossibility of Reason is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Chimaira, released on May 13, 2003. It is the first album to feature Matt DeVries on rhythm guitar. The album is a noted for its groove metal-oriented sound, especially when compared to the band's previous releases which were considered closer to the nu metal genre. Upon release, it debuted No. 117 on the Billboard 200 charts. To date the album has sold around 200,000 copies in the US.
Chimaira is the third studio album by Chimaira, released on August 9, 2005. It debuted No. 74 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The album would be the band's final release under Roadrunner Records and the only one to feature Kevin Talley on drums.
Matthew DeVries is the former rhythm guitarist in the heavy metal band Chimaira and the former bassist in the metal band Fear Factory. During his time with Chimaira, he, along with Rob Arnold and Mark Hunter, wrote many of the band's songs. In 2005, DeVries appeared on the Roadrunner United: The All Star Sessions album, playing on two of the tracks written by Joey Jordison of Slipknot, "Annihilation by the Hands of God," and "Constitution Down".
Pass Out of Existence is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Chimaira, released on October 2, 2001. According to vocalist Mark Hunter, as of 2003, the band has sold 44,000 copies of the album in the United States alone. Pass Out of Existence features an altogether different sound when compared to the band's later albums, leaning more towards nu metal rather than the groove metal style featured in later material. Its heavy use of electronics has also been noted.
Bleed the Sky is an American metalcore band formed in Orange County, California, in 2002.
Resurrection is the fourth studio album by Chimaira, released on March 6, 2007. Debuting at number 42 on the Billboard 200 charts, Resurrection shipped about 16,000 copies sold in its first week. The album was released in two forms: a regular version, and a limited edition version with different cover artwork and a DVD documentary of the making of the album. Chimaira's first album with Ferret Music since leaving Roadrunner Records, Resurrection features original drummer Andols Herrick who rejoined the group shortly before the writing process. Resurrection is also the first Chimaira album to feature some additional backing vocals by keyboardist Chris Spicuzza.
Suicide Silence is an American deathcore band from Riverside, California. The band was established in 2002, and has released seven studio albums, three EPs, and nineteen music videos. They were awarded the Revolver Golden God award for "Best New Talent" in 2009. The group currently consists of guitarists Chris Garza and Mark Heylmun, bassist Dan Kenny, vocalist Hernan "Eddie" Hermida and drummer Ernie Iniguez.
This Present Darkness is the debut EP and first major release of American heavy metal band Chimaira. As of 2007, the EP has sold more than 10,000 copies, and paved the way for the group’s debut album, Pass Out of Existence which would see a release the following year. Two songs from this EP, "Painting the White to Grey" and "Sphere," were re-recorded for the album's 2001 release.
Whitechapel is an American deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The band is named after the Whitechapel district in East London, England, where Jack the Ripper committed a series of murders. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, lead guitarist Ben Savage, rhythm guitarist Alex Wade, bassist Gabe Crisp and third guitarist Zach Householder. Founded in 2006 by Bozeman and Savage, the band has released eight studio albums and fourteen music videos, and are currently signed to Metal Blade Records. Whitechapel's 2010 album A New Era of Corruption, sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's self-titled fourth album was released in 2012 and debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 9,200 copies in its first week. In 2014 the band released their fifth full-length album, Our Endless War to generally positive reviews. The album sold roughly 16,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. They released their sixth full-length album Mark of the Blade in 2016 to greater critical acclaim, selling roughly 8,000 copies in the first week of its release. In 2019, Whitechapel released their seventh album, The Valley, which debuted at No. 143 on the Billboard 200 also to critical acclaim. Their newest album, Kin, was released on October 29, 2021.
The discography of American heavy metal band Chimaira consists of seven studio albums, two extended plays, eleven singles, two video albums and thirteen music videos. Chimaira originated in Cleveland, Ohio, composed of vocalist Mark Hunter, guitarists Jason Hager and Rob Arnold, bassist Jim LaMarca, drummer Andols Herrick and programmer Chris Spicuzza. Hager was replaced by Matt DeVries in 2001. Chimaira's first release was an extended play, This Present Darkness, which sold 10,000 copies. After signing to Roadrunner Records, the band's debut studio album, Pass Out of Existence, was released in August 2001. A second studio album, The Impossibility of Reason, followed in 2003, debuting and peaking at number 117 on the Billboard 200. Herrick was replaced by drummer Kevin Talley, formerly of Misery Index, in 2004. A video album, The Dehumanizing Process, arrived later that year, documenting the writing and recording process behind The Impossibility of Reason. Chimaira released a self-titled album in August 2005, which peaked at number 74 on the Billboard 200. After an internal crisis due to pressure from the label for a new release, the band moved on from Roadrunner and signed a new deal with Ferret Music. In early 2006, Herrick rejoined the band and Chimaira recorded their fourth studio album Resurrection, which appeared in early March 2007. Resurrection peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200.
Emil Werstler is an American guitarist and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee who is perhaps best known for his work in metal and gypsy jazz. In 2004, Werstler became lead guitarist for the metal band Dååth, whose second album The Hinderers peaked at No. 49 on the Top Heatseekers chart in 2007. In 2009 Dååth released The Concealers on Roadrunner which reached No. 35 on Top Heatseekers and was placed as No. 3 on a list of the "top twenty metal albums of 2009" by Metal Sucks. In 2010 Werstler released the instrumental metal album Avalanche of Worms as a collaboration with Eyal Levi with the album receiving a largely positive response for its musicianship and experimental nature.
The Infection is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Chimaira. Released in the US on April 20, 2009 and worldwide on April 24, it reached position 30 on the Billboard 200 charts on its first week of release, selling around 15,000 copies. This was improvement from the previous album's debut at No. 42. It is also their last album to feature long time bassist Jim Lamarca, drummer Andols Herrick, as well as longtime keyboard player Chris Spicuzza.
The Age of Hell is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Chimaira. The album was released on August 16, 2011. The album sold more than 7,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 54 on the Billboard 200 chart. In an interview, the band stated they have filmed a music video. On August 10, 2011, the official video for "Year of the Snake" was released. The DVD that was released through a Hot Topic edition featured a 50-minute interview with the new line up, no music videos were featured.
Crown of Phantoms is the seventh and final studio album by American metal band Chimaira. It was released on July 30, 2013, via record label E1 Music. It is the first and only Chimaira album to feature Austin D'Amond, Jeremy Creamer, Sean Zatorsky, Emil Werstler, and Matt Szlachta, who all joined the band during 2011 and 2012 and left the band in September 2014.
Chimaira was an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the group was a member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology. Throughout its history, the band had numerous line-up changes, leaving vocalist Mark Hunter as the only constant member. The band dissolved in 2014, but announced a one-off reunion in late 2017 wherein most of the group's longtime members rejoined.
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