Candiria is an American band from

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, mixing

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

, jazz fusion and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. They are part of the precursors of the

mathcore Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatur ...

genre with bands like Deadguy or

Lethargy Lethargy is a state of tiredness, sleepiness, weariness, fatigue, sluggishness, or lack of energy. It can be accompanied by depression, decreased motivation, or apathy. Lethargy can be a normal response to inadequate sleep, overexertion, overw ...

.Kevin Stewart-Panko, "The Decade in Noisecore", ''Terrorizer'' no. 75, Feb 2000, p. 22-23. Formed in 1992, the band was part of the second wave of New York hardcore, but subsequently expanded its performance to also play

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

. The band was founded by vocalist Carley Coma, guitarists Chris Puma and Eric Matthews, and drummer/bassist/keyboardist/trumpeter Kenneth Schalk.

History

Candiria was initially formed in 1992 by vocalist Carley Coma, guitarists Chris Puma and Eric Matthews, and drummer/bassist/keyboardist/trumpeter Kenneth Schalk. "Candiria" is supposedly the plural form of candiru, a parasitic fish found in the Amazon river. However, original member Kenneth Schalk stated that the band made up their name while unaware of the fish. The alleged plural is incorrect anyway: the name of the fish comes from the now extinct Old Tupi language, from where it passed on to Portuguese and later to other languages; in Portuguese, the plural form is simply ''candirus''. The band formed in the second wave of New York hardcore. Their first album ''Surrealistic Madness'' was released by Too Damn Hype Records in 1995. Chris Puma was replaced by John LaMacchia in 1997, just before their second album ''Beyond Reasonable Doubt''. The band then moved to M.I.A. Records, which released their third album '' The Process of Self-Development'' in 1999, and Century Media released their fourth album ''

300 Percent Density ''300 Percent Density'' is an album by Candiria. Released on May 1, 2001, the album peaked at number 44 on the ''Billboard'' Independent Albums chart. Track listing Credits Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from t ...

'' in 2001. That album reached No. 44 on the ''

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Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

chart. On September 9, 2002, Candiria was in a serious accident near Cleveland, Ohio while driving their touring van. A tractor trailer rear-ended the band's equipment trailer, which then caused the van to flip over several times, eventually landing on its roof. Four members of the band were ejected from the vehicle, and all members plus their driver were hospitalized for serious injuries. Candiria then went through a long and painful recovery period. The band was rumored to be paid $29 million in compensation (pending appeal). Candiria reemerged in 2004 with the album '' What Doesn't Kill You...'', the cover of which features a photo of the band's van after the 2002 accident. The album indicated a more melodic direction for the band, which received varying amounts of criticism and praise from different sides. The album reached No. 47 on the ''

chart. John LaMacchia temporarily quit the band for personal reasons after the album's release. Their next album ''Kiss the Lie'' was delayed for several years as the band continued to recover from the 2002 accident. LaMacchia returned during the recording process, but guitarist Eric Matthews quit the band, due in part to the continuing effects of his injuries. Drummer Kenneth Schalk departed during this period as well. By March 2009, Carley Coma and John LaMacchia were the only remaining members of Candiria. Coma had stated that any future Candiria efforts would most likely be electronica-based projects as they were without a rhythm section. However, bassist Michael MacIvor had been helping out since 2007 and became a permanent member in 2009. Guitarist Eddie Ortiz also joined during this period, and original drummer Kenneth Schalk returned to the band. Their sixth studio album ''Kiss the Lie'' was released in 2009. Also starting in 2009, LaMacchia and Schalk created a series of albums titled ''Toying with the Insanities'' in which old Candiria songs are remixed in collaboration with notable DJs and producers. Original guitarist Chris Puma died of undisclosed causes on September 20, 2009. On April 29, 2014, Candiria released a two track 7-inch entitled ''Invaders'', their first new material in five years. In April and May 2015 Candiria made their first live appearances in New York City in a decade. Kenneth Schalk quit the band again due to family commitments in July 2016, and was replaced by Danny Grossarth. Guitarist Eddie Ortiz also quit the band during this period and was replaced by Julio Arias. Candiria signed with Metal Blade Records in 2015. Their seventh full-length album ''While They Were Sleeping'' was released in October 2016. They played on the

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...

in 2017.

Side projects and other bands

Kenneth Schalk, Michael MacIvor, and John LaMacchia have been involved in a free-jazz side project named Ghosts of the Canal, who have released two full-length albums, ''Sessions from the Flats'' (1999) and ''Five Episodes from the Subconscious'' (2002). This project employs unconventional instrumentation like

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

and

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

. MacIvor and LaMacchia also formed the classic rock band A Family Plot, and LaMacchia is a member of Spylacopa along with Greg Puciato, Jeff Caxide, and Julie Christmas, which released the albums ''Spylacopa'' (2008) and ''Parallels'' (2015). Schalk was also a longtime member of the band

Fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

. Carley Coma has performed with the Christian rock band Hope Kills Fear, which was formed to create "emotional, thought-provoking songs to spread a message of hope, faith, strength and perseverance." In 2011, Coma also released one album with the hard rock band Park Lane.

Musical style

The band's music frequently employs dissonance and unusual

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

s, traits more commonly associated with

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

, in addition to

polyrhythm Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...

s, as well as sonic experimentation and genre-bending. The band has played jazz fusion,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

and

, among others. The band describes their sound as "urban fusion".

Band members

Current *Carley Coma — vocals (1992—present) *John LaMacchia — lead guitar (1997—present) *Michael MacIvor — bass (1997—present) *Julio Arias — rhythm guitar (2015—present) *Danny Grossarth — drums (2016—present) Former *Chris Puma — lead guitar (1992–1997; died in 2009) *Eric Matthews — rhythm guitar (1992–2004), bass (1992–1997) *Robert Corbino — bass (Warped Tour; 2017) *Eddie Ortiz — rhythm guitar (2004–2014) *Kenneth Schalk — drums, keyboards, trumpet (1992–2016), bass (1992–1997) Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Surrealistic Madness'' (1995, Too Damn Hype Records) * ''Beyond Reasonable Doubt'' (1997, Too Damn Hype Records) * '' The Process of Self-Development'' (1999, M.I.A. Records) * '' 300 Percent Density'' (2001, Century Media Records) * '' The C.O.M.A. Imprint'' (2002, Lakeshore Records) * '' What Doesn't Kill You...'' (2004, Type A Records) * '' Kiss the Lie'' (2008, Rising Pulse Records) * '' While They Were Sleeping'' (2016, Metal Blade Records) ;EPs * ''Subliminal'' (EP) (1994, self-released) * ''Deep in the Mental'' (EP) (1995, Devastating Soundworks) ;Other releases * ''Mathematics'' -inch(1999, Stillborn Records) * ''Toying with the Insanities Volume I'' emixes(2009, Rising Pulse Records) * ''Toying with the Insanities Volume II'' emixes(2009, Rising Pulse Records) * ''Toying with the Insanities Volume III'' emixes(2010, Rising Pulse Records) * ''The Invaders'' -inch(2014, Rising Pulse Records, Giant MKT)

References

External links

* Candiriaat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Candiria
on

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