''This Present Darkness'' is the debut EP and first major release of American heavy metal band

Chimaira Chimaira ( ) is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the band's name is derived from the word Chimera (mythology), Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology. Throughout its history, ...

. 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 ''Pass Out of Existence'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal music, heavy metal band Chimaira, released on October 2, 2001. According to vocalist Mark Hunter (musician), Mark Hunter, as of 2003, the band has sold 44,000 copies of ...

'' 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.

Background

Track 13 is entitled "Empty" (6:23), track 14 is entitled "Silence" (3:21), and track 69 is a joke song entitled "Satan's Wizard" (2:07). Tracks 6-12 and 15-68 each contain 3 seconds of silence. The hidden tracks, "Empty" and "Silence" were recorded with original bassist Andrew Ermlick. The band wanted the songs to be part of the EP, and they also wanted Ermlick to be part of the record. However, they didn't have the money to bring him in to re-record them so they used the demo versions of the tracks. The two tracks were hidden so that the CD could be sold at the price of an EP. "Empty" features guest vocals from Rob of the band Canister. "Silence" features guest vocals from John Marino, Doug Esper, and Dan Pelleteir. The sample at the end of "Sphere" is taken from the film ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American Prison film, prison Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. The film t ...

'', a favorite of the band members'. "Satan's Wizard" is not a live track; fake crowd noise was added to the recording, and the high pitched vocals are done by Ben Schigel of Sw1tched (the producer of this EP). At the end of the song, he deliberately mispronounces the word 'Chimaira'.

2004 reissue

''This Present Darkness'' was re-released and remastered with two included bonus tracks, "Refuse to See" and "Gag" (yet with "Satan's Wizard" omitted). This reissue came as a bonus item with the '' Dehumanizing Process'' DVD released on October 26, 2004. The bonus song "Refuse to See" that was included in this version is the same track that was included on the band's 1999 MCD self-titled EP; however, "Gag" is exclusive to this version only and was never released on any previous Chimaira album. "Gag" and "Refuse to See" were actually written while Hunter and Jim LaMarca were playing in Skipline, their prior hardcore band.

Cover art

The person who appears on the front cover is a heavily edited photo of drummer

Andols Herrick Chimaira ( ) is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, 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, ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Mark Hunter –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Rob Arnold Rob Arnold (born January 3, 1980) is an American musician, best known for performing as the lead guitarist of the metal band Chimaira and later as a guitarist of the death metal band Six Feet Under. In an interview with Roadrunner Records, he ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

*Jason Hager –

*Andols Herrick –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

*Rob Lesniak –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

on all tracks except "Empty" and "Silence" *Andrew Ermlick –

on "Empty" and "Silence"

References

{{Authority control Chimaira albums 2000 debut EPs