Coal Chamber ‘humbled’ to work with Jourgensen

Coal Chamber mainman Dez Fafara says he’s humbled to have collaborated with Ministry’s Al Jourgensen on their upcoming album.

The Ministry frontman teamed up with the LA metal outfit for a track on the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2002’s Dark Days. And vocalist Fafara says he was the perfect artist to have on board as they share a similar sound.

He tells Artist Direct: “He’s a good friend and a legend. He came to my house – we ate Italian food, drank wine, and had a great time recording together. No other artist would have fit the bill to collaborate with us as Al straddles both metal and goth the same way Coal Chamber does.

“His music in Ministry is the bridge between metal and the dark. He’s a great guy, and I’m humbled to have worked alongside him.”

Fafara broke up Coal Chamber in 2002 and resurrected the outfit with founding members guitarist Miguel Rascon and drummer Mikey Cox in 2011, while bassist Nadja Peulan was recruited in 2013. And the frontman reveals the new album, which was completed last month, moves their sound forward and has a “fresh feel.”

He continues: “The mindset of course is different – it’s very focused and very intent on delivering the best within our music. You cannot expect a throwback record after 13 years apart, and I personally would not want to be part of that sort of record.

“This album absolutely has a fresh feel and is a total growth for the band.”

Coal Chamber will take to the road across North America starting in March with support provided by Filter, Combichrist and American Head Charge.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.