Coal Chamber

Coal Chamber was an American nü metal band formed in 1993 and based in Los Angeles. The band’s initial lineup had vocalist Bradley “Dez” Fafara, bassist Rayna Foss-Rose, guitarist Miguel “Meegs” Rascón, and drummer John Thor. Thor would leave the band in 1994 and was replaced with Mike “Bugs” Cox. Dez would leave in late 1994 due to disagreements with his wife at the time about the band before returning in the spring of 1995.

The band signed with Roadrunner Records in 1995 after being offered a contract by Dino Cazares in 1994 and would go on to release 3 albums under the label: Self-Titled (1997), Chamber Music (1999), and Dark Days (2002). Rayna Foss left in 1999 and was replaced by Nadja Peulen, who would remain with the band until 2002 when Rayna would return for a short period of time. Rayna would leave later that year after becoming a Christian, being replaced with Nadja yet again.

Coal Chamber disbanded after an argument ensued between Dez and Meegs before a show in Lubbock, Texas on April 17th, 2002. The argument turned physical during the show with Meegs hitting Dez in the head with his guitar, who promptly stormed offstage after announcing it was the band’s final show. The band confirmed in 2003 that they were not getting back together and released a compilation album Giving the Devil His Due that year. Dez would go on to form DevilDriver while the other members took part in their own projects: Nadja formed t-shirt company CruelTees while Meegs formed Glass Piñata before forming We Are the Root with Mike.

In September 2011, the band confirmed a return with new bassist Chela Rhea Harper, who would leave in 2013 to be replaced by Nadja Peulen. The band would release a final studio album, Rivals, in 2015 with this lineup. As of May 2016, the band is on indefinite hiatus, with Dez concentrating on DevilDriver.