Critics have been saying for ages that Chimaira have never been as good as they where since the release of 2003’s hit The Impossibility of Reason, but after a different approach with Resurrection and The Infection it’s easy to see why the haters hate these decent (but not perfect) albums. Now in 2011, the mighty Chimaira are back with The Age of Hell which most definitely is the album to put them back on the metalcore market, putting them back up there in the big league with Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage and Trivium who have just been keeping the throne warm for them while Chimaira went on an experimental break.

There are so many memorable moments on The Age of Hell, and although each song on this album adopts the generic structure of aggressive verse and melodic chorus like in most metalcore songs – Chimaira show raw power and emotion in songs like ‘Losing my Mind , ‘Year of the Snake’ and ‘Trigger Finger’ and prove that they are at the top of their game. Mark Hunter is a hell of a front man, and he is one of the reasons while The Age of Hell is so great. He put’s so much energy into singing, powering through each note like a runaway train!

Compared to Chimaira’s past two releases The Age of Hell clearly concentrates of the heavy riffs making it sound musically like a punk record. It’s great because there is so much anarchy and rebellion in Chimaira’s music and it sounds bloody amazing when it smashes at 100mph through your stereo! Tracks like ‘Clockwork’, ‘Beyond the Grave’ and ‘Born in Blood’ are so catchy and are some of the finest examples of Chimaira’s work to date. It’s fast paced power chords, slick bass grooves and driving pounding drums. Yes it’s basic, but it is amazing,

It would have been great to hear something a bit different like off The Infection. Something that is unique, perhaps more solo’s from Rob Arnold on guitar, maybe a few more mellow songs like a ballad. But the fact that The Age of Hell is straight up aggression makes it really repetitive at points, and it’s a real shame because there are some great songs on this album. If Chimaira would slow it down a bit and experiment with different sub-genres and sounds, then The Age of Hell would be a perfect record!

If you didn’t get this album free with Metal Hammer then I would say that this is an album you need to get your mits on. With hard hitting riffs, great vocal hooks and a great return to form. Chimaira have released one of their best albums ever, and it will blow your mind with its smashingly loud power. [7/10]