Many a child of the nu metal 90’s were elated to learn recently that spooky nu metal stalwarts Coal Chamber were finally ready to pick up their instruments again after many years of inactivity.
Coal Chamber and DevilDriver mastermind Dez Fafara recently spoke to Radioactive MikeZ of the 96.7 KCAL-FM show Wired In The Empire, and dropped a pretty big bombshell that he almost died from COVID-19.
Thankfully he is OK, and one silver lining of the whole terrifying incident was that it actually directly set Coal Chamber on a path to getting back together.
As transcribed by Blabbermouth, here’s what went down:
“Unbelievable turn of events. That actually happened… I was on my way out from COVID. And my wife called [the rest of Coal Chamber] and said:
‘Hey, you guys may wanna text Dez or call Dez ’cause I don’t know if he’s gonna make it through the night. He’s telling me where he wants to be buried and not to sell his ’78 Cadillac.’
So they started to call me, they started to text me, and over a period of six, seven, eight months, we didn’t talk any business at all. And we realized that, you know, why are we not playing shows? Those guys are totally different people than when we broke up. I have always been the same — I’ve just been solid as a rock; and I told them, ‘I’m solid as a rock. If I come out of this, I would love to do at least one show with you guys.’ And that’s how this all started — very organically.
As for Coal Chamber’s future, it’s sounding pretty bright:
“I’m very excited for the Sick New World fest and to see what we’re gonna do. There’s a lot of tours that have been offered. But we’re gonna take it slow and we’re gonna do what’s appropriate for the brand and for the band and especially the fans that have been with us for so long.
I’ve had e-mail after e-mail after e-mail with offer after offer after offer, and it’s really just up to the camp to what we’re gonna do.
As of right now, we have these few festivals. There’s an amphitheater tour that’s offered to us in June or July. We’re not sure what’s gonna be happening. We will see. And only the future time will tell. But we’re gonna do what’s best for us and for the fans.”
We’re of course stoked that Dez is OK and kicking ass, and that something positive came out of what sounds like a pretty shitty experience.