Chimaira have debuted a brand new music video for their single “No Mercy” today. The single, as well as the preorder for the band’s forthcoming album, Crown of Phantom, are now available via iTunes.

Vocalist Mark Hunter weighs in: “We are pumped to present the first official video for our new album Crown of Phantom. Directed by Cleveland native Patrick Finegan, ‘No Mercy’ is a ferocious, twisted, cerebral ride through hell and back. Enjoy the trip!”

Mark Hunter is the vocalist and founding member of Cleveland metal act Chimaira. For more than a decade, Chimaira has been imposing its gravity on the metal community by continually touring the globe and selling more than a million albums worldwide. Their brand of heavy music has evolved and transcended both itself and the trends while maintaining its persistent, bludgeoning force. The band will release Crown Of Phantoms on July 30th. Listen to the first single “All That’s Left is Blood” at the bottom of this post.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
-Albert Einstein

I’ve been a touring musician for over a decade and to this day the hardest part is adapting from my lifestyle at home to the animal I become on tour. We had a year off from the world of touring, so I became comfortable living the suburban dream. Sleeping in my own bed, eating healthy, exercising and feeling great overall– which is the opposite of how we can feel on tour. About two weeks before our recent run started I went through hell and back, riddled with anxiety. I was so stressed out that at one point my immune system weakened and I wound up in the hospital with the stomach flu. What the hell was I so freaked about?

Touring hasn’t always been easy. The older I get, the harder it seems to leave home but this was nuts. I talked to some of the other guys in the band and found out that they too were going through the jitters of getting back out on the road. While I found comfort in the fact I was not alone, unfortunately there was so much else going on with sensitive deadlines and it wasn’t enough to shake it. We had a ton to prepare for and finish from completion of the album to promo to rehearsal.

I worked on meditation, diet, and staying busy yet relaxed to alleviate my symptoms and ensure I was able to perform at my maximum ability. This is an important cycle and every move we make has to be performed with precision. I couldn’t let the fear of tour get in my way. It’s essential to stay relaxed even if it seems impossible. I plowed through the stress, flu, and deadlines, and there I was sitting with my band on the way to St. Louis. Ready to adapt to the road.

First, it starts with getting your sea legs back. Standing, walking and pissing in a vehicle traveling 65mph can be a challenge. The next thing you have to adapt to would be sleeping while moving or should I say, “Getting tossed around like a sock in a dryer.” You catch air quite a bit. Rumble strips, potholes and a driver changing their music player causing a massive jerk of the wheel. All awesome things you will feel as soon as you fall asleep.

The first show produces what we like to call a “bangover” – like a hangover, but from headbanging. Remember how sore your neck and throat get after screaming and going crazy at a concert? Well, why would we be any different? Day two is the worst because we have to headbang with whiplash. The neck hardly moves, and although you try, there is absolutely no elasticity left whatsoever. I was happy we had a shower on the vehicle, which helps the neck. It also helps you feel human to wash the venue filth off you.

Finding a clean toilet is the daily challenge on tour. You walk into some fucking nasty places. The toilet from “Candyman” is a prime example of what some of the venues have to offer. It’s fucking crazy. No doors, no seat, no toilet paper.

Food is the next challenge. Luckily Android devices come with Google Now, so we don’t have to walk around exploring. We hone in to exactly what we want, if there’s anything in the area. That’s always hit or miss. It could be that your dinner for the night is pizza. I love pizza, so I’m cool with it but not for 3 days in a row. And that’s exactly what happens. One killer aspect of tour is getting the chance to eat at all the places you see on The Food Network or Travel Channel. We had some dank meals. Pappy’s, what it do?

The other thing we have to adapt to daily are the clusterfucks, or “production nightmares” as our tour manager Big John likes to call them, each venue presents. What will load in be like? Will it be two guys carrying heavy ass road cases up a flight of rickety stairs? What will the stage be like? Will the band fit? Sometimes the answer is “no.”

Most importantly, how is the sound system? Is it set up for a metal band or did a metal band show up to a rig suitable for a hipster’s spoken word performance? It has happened! When we start playing on stage, will we be able to hear ourselves? I’d estimate we had a good monitor mix 5/25 shows of the last tour. We have to adapt every night and stay in sync with each other no matter what we can or can’t hear.

We all have to adapt to our relationships at home. From family to loved ones, part of the process is learning how to be home when you’re away from home. Our ladies also have to adapt to their men being gone. Easier said than done! Choosing to live with the smells and sounds of 10 people breathing and flatulating amongst each other over staying at home with a wife takes a special type of sick individual.

Touring is awesome though, and standing on stage is worth everything. And I love having to adapt to new challenges daily. It keeps me on my toes. At some point, you just stop giving a fuck about certain things and you win because you’ve learned to channel your energy in new ways. Extremely fast problem solving has now become a major interest of mine.

When the music’s over and I am back home, the first week is always a bit rough. I’ve been traveling at the speed of sound all over the country, and now I’m standing still. Don’t get me wrong, I love being at home, but it’s totally different than touring, and I have to go through the come down. The high is over, and the crash has begun. I’m no longer a nomadic rock icon. Yes, I use that word loosely.

Week 3 – I’m back to myself and I feel great, I’m also stoked for the next run. I seriously doubt I’ll have any anxiety next time. I had way too much fun the past 6 weeks, and I can’t wait to do it again. Plus the album will be out and there won’t be any deadlines to worry about. I’ll be able to concentrate on the tour and writing. I sum it up to having too much on my plate, and being detached from tour for too long.

Maybe my situations can help people learn to deal with and adapt to some of the curveballs life throws at them. While my situations are written for the sake of humor, behind it there’s a message. We carry way too much stress on our shoulders these days, and I can honestly say being thrown into odd situations on a daily basis has actually improved my ability to reduce stress levels exponentially. Each time I’m presented with a new challenge I learn to embrace it and learn from it.

Don’t run from fear. Never give up. Adapt and survive. It’s the way we all came to be and the only way to continue.

UPDATE: Find out the results here!

Hunter posted the following on the band’s website:

“I would like to start off by thanking our fans for a great tour. This last run was a blast, and truly the most fun we’ve had in a long while. The energy from the audience was exactly what we needed, and a welcoming return. Thank you guys!

“Unfortunately, as much fun as we were having, behind the scenes we were aware of some unfortunate realities that prevented us from ‘living the dream’ and having the time of our lives. We had another bomb to drop on the fans.

“Early in July we were informed that Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries would be leaving Chimaira at the end of 2011. Of course this was a huge blow, but there were no hard feelings. We understand that life invades art, everything runs its course, and we have to take different paths.

“We respect their decision and wish them only the best. We made heavy-metal history together and that is all that matters at the end of the day.

“Chimaira Christmas 12 will be their last show, and we’ve been preparing to make it one that you’ll never forget.

“I would personally like to thank Rob and Matt for all of their hard work, years of service to Chimaira, amazing songs, and for their friendship. Together we built something special that will remain for generations to come. I’m looking forward to spending another 5 weeks on the road with two of the best (and criminally underrated) guitarists in modern metal.

“What’s next for Chimaira in 2012?

“More on that very soon.

“Rather than try and make light of unpleasant news, or downplay this by hyping up a new line-up, let’s take a few to honor Rob and Matt.

“My favorite solo of Rob’s is on “The Heart of it All” and my favorite riff of Matt’s is “The Dehumanizing Process.” I’ll be cranking those today. What about you?

“See you in Detroit.”

Boston death/thrash metallers Revocation are currently traveling the U.S. in support of their recently released third album

The war machine of our tour package keeps on turning, and cities lay decimated in our wake. Or at least slightly hungover. After hitting the west coast, the ball busting drives finally eased up, which means party time for Revocation. Portland was next in line, and we fucking love Portland. We got to kick it with the head of Relapse, which is always a fun time, and hit up his amazing pizza place “Sizzle Pie.”  I’m usually skeptical of West Coast pizza, but this shit is seriously legit. Also went to the famous “Voodoo Doughnuts,” and got a box of a dozen that would make Homer Simpson jizz in his pants. I know you’re probably all thinking, How do Revocation manage to stay looking so amazing all the time with a diet like that? Well, I’ll tell you how: we exercise. That’s right. We pump iron. Hard. The road can kick your ass, so we make sure to stay in peak physical condition with a strict regiment of cardio and strength building. Here’s an exercise I came up with myself.

We made our way down the coast, and morale was high. We stopped by the Boardwalk, in Orangevale, California, and got to work with my favorite soundguy in the U.S., Claude. Not only does he share my love of Judas Priest, but also my love of philosophy: “Women are like frying pans, ya gotta heat ‘em up before ya put the meat in.” A true prophet.

The next day we were in L.A., playing the famous Key Club. We were pumped because that was the one remaining iconic club on the sunset strip that we hadn’t played (the other two being the Whisky and the Roxy). One thing that I was wondering about was why Steel Panther wasn’t playing the Key Club that night, given that it was a Monday and they have had a residency there for years and years. My wonder quickly turned to ejaculatory joy, when I heard that they had shifted over to the House of Blues, and were playing that night after our set! Fuck yeah!!! We got in touch with our management, and they even set us up on the list. Steel Panther were supposed to go on at 10:30, so we rushed over there, only to wait until literally midnight for them to go on. Any other band and I would be pissed, but making a crowd wait an hour and a half for you to go on is a rock n’ roll douchebag move of the highest caliber, and it only made me love them more.

So fucking good.

Afterwards we stopped by the Rainbow and grabbed a drink with a few of the Chimaira dudes. If you can get past the traffic, smog, and really strange people, L.A. can be an awesome place. Plus you can run into people like this:

You can really see how excited [futureusgalleryRon Jeremy] was to hang out with us. A couple days after that, we were in Dallas, which means only one thing: titties. After the show we booked it over to the Clubhouse, which I’m sure everyone knows is Vinnie Paul’s strip club. We got in free because of our tour laminates, and the debauchery began. As an added bonus, Anthrax and Testament had also played Dallas that night, and were all hanging out at the Clubhouse with Vinnie! Unfortunately by the time we got there they were all heading out, so we just settled for getting excessively drunk and throwing dollars at chicks buttholes. Still a good time!

Well that about does it for this installment of “Phil’s road to liver failure.” Check back soon for my final update, as you won’t want to miss the awesome pics of our Halloween show. Later!

Boston death/thrash metallers Revocation are currently traveling the U.S. in support of their recently released third album Chaos of Forms (Relapse), on the Jägermeister Presents tour with Chimaira (see all the dates here). Beginning with this post, drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne is keeping a blog for us so we don’t miss out on anything that goes down, both onstage and off. You can read part one right here and don’t forget to check back to Revolvermag.com over the coming weeks for further installments.

Whats up everybody! Phil from Revocation here, giving you guys a little inside look at our U.S. tour with Chimaira and Impending Doom.

We started the tour with a bang, driving 12 straight hours on our way to Kent, Ohio! Wooo!!! We got to the venue early the next morning and met all the dudes we would be spending the next month with. Everybody is cool as hell, and almost everyone seems like they party, so, if things go the way I expect, it should be a very blurry month. The show was sweet and everyone killed it. A few minor technical difficulties, but that’s always the way the first show is. Everyone started feeling much better after hanging with a rep from Jägermeister for a few hours, and good times were had by all.

Woke up the next day and went to check out a potential new touring vehicle.

Unfortunately we were a few intergalactic credits short. Oh well, off to Baltimore!

Baltimore is always a great time because we know so many people there. After a swanky dinner of Maryland crab, we ripped our set, then slammed Natty Bohs and caught up with old friends. Also my experiment to see how tattoos heal on the road was a success. Results: infected!

Sorry, Paul, looks like all hells breakin’ loose in the form of a flesh eating staff infection! At least its not permanent. To Philly!

Philly is also always a fun city, and we were super pumped this time because we were playing the super sweet Trocadero, where Lamb of God filmed their Killadelphia DVD. The club is in the heart of Chinatown, and we had a badass dinner of hand drawn noodle soup. Our friends in Relapse came out to show some love, and we had a few drinks with a couple of the dudes from Baroness. It’s cool when a band you dig is also into you.

Woke up and had a heart-healthy breakfast at the famous John’s Roast Pork, which has the most boner-inducing cheesesteaks in the world. Fuck you, arteries!

Unfortunately we had a 13-hour drive to Joliet, so we didn’t get to pay homage to the mighty Rocky statue. Luckily we have a day off, so it’s time for a full day of driving, which means a shitload of Kiss and Howard Stern. Not the best way to spend a day off, but not the worst. Check back soon for updates, and make sure to come out and rip it with us when we come through your city. Let’s get weird!

“We are extremely excited to hit the road with our old friends in Unearth,” Chimaira vocalist Mark Hunter said in a statement. “Crazy to think that our bands have been playing shows for over 10 years but never headlined together in the states. A lot of fans have been waiting for this line-up and now the wait is over. This is going to be a blast! Our friends at Jägermeister will be supplying the fun, we’ll be blasting the tunes, and you guys bring the ruckus! I guarantee you don’t want to miss this!”

“We are incredibly pleased to announce this fall’s Jägermeister tour in North America,” Unearth frontman Trevor Phipps added.   “We will be supporting our new album “Darkness in the Light” and are anxious to play more tracks from that album. Hitting the road with us will be our old friends in Chimaira, Skeletonwitch and soon to be new friends in Molotov Solution.  We would like to thank Jägermeister for supporting this tour and we look forward to seeing you all on the road! Let’s make this a fall tour to remember!!! Cheers!!!””

Jägermeister Presents Tour Chimaira dates:

10/10  Kent, OH, The Outpost
10/11  Baltimore, MD, Sonar
10/12  Philadelphia, PA, The Trocadero
10/14  Joliet, IL, Mojoes
10/15  Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue
10/16  Kansas City, MO, Beaumont Club
10/17  Denver, CO, Summit Music Hall
10/18  Salt Lake City, UT, Club Sound
10/20  Seattle, WA, Studio Seven
10/21  Portland, OR, Peter’s Room at Roseland Theater
10/22  Eugene, OR, McDonald Theatre
10/24  West Hollywood, CA, Key Club
10/25  Tucson, AZ, The Rock
10/27  San Antonio. TX, White Rabbit
10/28  Dallas, TX, The Door
10/29  Houston, TX, Fitzgerald’s
10/31  Orlando, FL, Firestone Live
11/01  Atlanta, GA, The Masquerade
11/03  New York, NY, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
11/04  Millvale, PA, Mr. Smalls Theatre
11/05  Columbus, OH, Alrosa Villa

Jägermeister Presents Unearth and Chimaira Tour Dates:
11/16  Hartford, CT, Webster Theatre
11/17  Poughkeepsie, NY, The Chance
11/18  Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom
11/19  Hampton Beach, NH, Wally’s Pub
11/20  Springfield, VA, JAXX
11/21  Asheville, NC, The Orange Peel
11/22  Raleigh, NC, Lincoln Theater
11/23  Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues
11/25  Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Revolution
11/26  St. Petersburg, FL, State Theatre
11/27  Jacksonville, FL, Freebird Live
11/29  Austin, TX, Emo’s
11/30  Oklahoma City, OK, Diamond Ballroom
12/01  Albuquerque, NM, Sunshine Theater*
12/02  Grand Junction, CO, Mesa Theater & Club
12/03  Colorado Springs, CO, The Black Sheep*
12/04  Farmington, NM, Top Deck
12/05  Tempe, AZ, The Marquee Theatre*
12/07  Pomona, CA, Glass House*
12/08  Reno, NV, Knitting Factory
12/09  Boise, ID, Knitting Factory
12/10  Spokane, WA, Knitting Factory*
12/16  Cedar Falls, IA, Wheelhouse
12/17  Madison, WI, The Barrymore Theater
12/18  Grand Rapids, MI, The Intersection

* Skeletonwitch will not be appearing on these dates

REVOLVER

BRAND NEW ISSUE FEATURES SUCH BANDS AS
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, DISTURBED, AND GODSMACK SALUTING THE ARMED FORCES

NEW INTERVIEWS WITH AMERICAN IDOL’S JAMES DURBIN AND LEGENDARY VOCALIST SEBASTIAN BACH

PACKAGED EXCLUSIVELY WITH 18 FREE “BIG 4” COLLECTIBLE TRADING CARDS

Hard-rock and heavy-metal musicians “Salute the Troops” in the new issue of Revolver magazine, available everywhere on August 16 in anticipation of the 10-year anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy. Inside, cover stars Five Finger Death Punch talk about how their 2010 trip to the Middle East to play for U.S. troops helped closer together. 5FDP’s third album is set for release this October 11. Also, artists including Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Godsmack, Staind, and Shinedown recount their experiences on U.S.O. tours abroad, and members of Tool, All That Remains, and others share stories of their times serving in the military.

The issue also includes a feature on American Idol contestant James Durbin, who urged the United States to “give metal a chance.” He discusses how he discovered metal by hearing singer Ronnie James Dio on the radio, what performing on Idol alongside artists like Zakk Wylde and Judas Priest was like, and what the future holds for him.

The jam-packed issue also features articles on Megadeth and former Skid Row singer and reality TV star Sebastian Bach, as well as Metallica, the movie Fright Night, Theory of a Deadman, Kittie, Chimaira, Eyes Set to Kill, and others.

As a special exclusive bonus, the newsstand edition of the new issue of Revolver contains limited-edition baseball cards of the “Big 4” bands of thrash metal—Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax—who are set to play the historic first metal show ever at Yankee Stadium on September 14. The cards are modeled after the classic Topps baseball cards from 1986, the same year these four bands released their metal masterpieces. View the cards here.

For all this and more, check out the September/October issue of Revolver magazine, which is available on newsstands everywhere from August 16 to October 10, and online right here.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.