Formation and early years (1992–1995) Coal Chamber was originally formed in 1992 under the name She's in Pain by vocalist Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascón, based on a mutual love for
the Sisters of Mercy. After a few shows, they decided to change the band's lineup, and they adopted their present name in 1993. Bassist Rayna Foss was recruited through a newspaper ad. According to Foss, the band at the time was named "Coal", while Rascón wanted to name it "Chamber", and they ended up combining the two words. A few weeks prior, John Tor was fired for "constantly fighting" with Rascón, per Fafara. The record produced one single and a video, "
Loco", directed by Nathan "Karma" Cox. The video was included as an extra after the ending credits of Dee Snider's film
Strangeland. The band also recorded an exclusive song for the soundtrack, titled "Not Living". The album only sold 844 copies in its first week; at its peak, it was selling 5,000 copies per week. On December 21, 1999, it was certified Gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying over 500,000 copies sold. In 1997, the band toured Europe with
Machine Head, The album saw the band experiment with their sound, placing a greater emphasis on harmonies and symphonic qualities. According to
Alternative Press, the record was "one of the few instances where a band lumped into the whole nü-metal phylum sought to challenge their audience." while its lead single, a cover of
Peter Gabriel's "
Shock the Monkey", featuring
Ozzy Osbourne, gave the band their first radio hit. Despite this, the album received mixed reviews from critics and did not sell as well as their debut, Fafara recognized that that record's direction was not well-received by the band's fanbase but did not view it as a failure due to its initial positive reception. That year, the band took part in
Insane Clown Posse's
Amazing Jeckel Brothers Tour, along with
Biohazard,
Krayzie Bone,
Twiztid, and
Mindless Self Indulgence. While Biohazard, Mindless Self Indulgence, Krayzie Bone, and Twiztid were well received by audiences, Between August and December 1999, Nadja Peulen filled in on bass while Rayna Foss went on
maternity leave. Foss returned to the band in January 2000. On March 10, 2000, it was announced that Coal Chamber had amicably parted ways with Sharon Osbourne Management. Rascón said that the band's relationship with Osbourne had "run its course and we needed to find another point of view". Conversely, Fafara claimed that the other members of Coal Chamber had met up in a hotel—alleging some members had been "up for four or five days straight on
meth"—and fired Osbourne without consulting him. Having grown exhausted from being on the road together for five years, Coal Chamber abruptly ended touring in support of
Chamber Music in July 2000 and dropped off the
Tattoo the Earth tour a week before it was due to begin, ostensibly to begin work on new material. The band members did not communicate with one another for a year,
Dark Days and first disbandment (2001–2003) Between May and September 2001, Coal Chamber recorded their third album,
Dark Days, with producer Ross Hogarth. The recording sessions were marked with high drug use and tensions between Fafara and Rascón, the latter of which informed the album's tone and some of its lyrics. A week after recording concluded, Foss left the band to raise her daughter, and Peulen was brought back as her official replacement;
Dark Days was issued on May 6, 2002, Prior to its release, Coal Chamber joined the
Jägermeister tour across the United States, which commenced on March 8. On April 17, Fafara and Rascón got into an onstage altercation during a show in
Lubbock, Texas. Tensions between the two were high, and they had been fighting before the show. On May 15, 2002, the band made their debut appearance on television, performing "
Fiend" on
Last Call with Carson Daly. In June and July 2002, they embarked on a summer tour of the United States with
American Head Charge,
Lollipop Lust Kill, and Medication. For the duration of the tour, Fafara and Rascón traveled in separate tour buses. In August 2002, Fafara formed the band Deathride, later known as
DevilDriver. In September 2002, he denied that Coal Chamber was breaking up. In October 2002, Coal Chamber parted ways with their management and Cox. In May 2003, Peulen said that the band would be releasing a
B-sides compilation but that there was no new drummer or album on the horizon. In July, Rascón confirmed that Coal Chamber had split up. Fafara attributed the split primarily to the band's escalating drug use (in particular with Rascón and Cox), stating that he did not want to help fund their drug habits. He also mentioned creative and business differences. A month after the band's split, a compilation album, titled
Giving the Devil His Due, was released, which included several demo tracks submitted by Coal Chamber prior to their signing with Roadrunner Records in 1997, along with alternative studio recordings and remixes of various tracks from their previous albums.
Post-breakup (2003–2010) In August 2004, Roadrunner Records released
The Best of Coal Chamber. In June 2005, Fafara stated that Coal Chamber's break was permanent and they would not be reforming. He also described a reformation as "like asking someone if they would ever want to go back and repeat the third and fourth grades after they're already done with high school". Fafara continued as vocalist of the metal band DevilDriver, recording seven albums:
DevilDriver, ''
The Fury of Our Maker's Hand, The Last Kind Words, Pray for Villains, Beast, Winter Kills, and Trust No One''. He is the only member of Coal Chamber to release an album after the disbandment. Bass guitarist Nadja Puelen created the t-shirt company CruelTees. After taking two years off to recover from a car accident, drummer Mikey "Bug" Cox joined forces with his longtime friend and
Orgy member Jay Gordon—and the producer of Coal Chamber's first album – to form Machine Gun Orchestra. Guitarist Meegs Rascón formed the rock band Glass Piñata, previously known as Piñata. The group released a few demos on their website, and faced several line-up changes before eventually disbanding. Following Glass Piñata, Rascón joined the Orange County rock/electro band NEO GEO in mid-2009, although he later left the band in 2010. Fafara and Rascón settled their differences on October 24, 2008, with Rascón joining DevilDriver on stage at the Glasshouse in
Pomona, California, to play "Loco". In September 2009, it was announced that Peulen and Cox had joined forces to form an unnamed band. They were seeking a vocalist and guitarist to complete the lineup. In September 2010, Rascón and Cox joined together in a post-punk band called We Are the Riot.
Reformation, Rivals, and second disbandment (2011–2017) In September 2011, Fafara, Cox, and Rascón officially reformed the band with bass guitarist Chela Rhea Harper, to play the
Soundwave festival in Australia. In October 2012, Fafara stated that the band were "taking it slow", partly due to his commitments with
DevilDriver, but he also revealed that they had begun writing new material. The band later performed at Download 2013 and toured with
Sevendust,
Lacuna Coil, and
Stolen Babies, with performances at Rock Am Ring, Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, and Nova Rock festival. Nadja Peulen officially reunited with the band in October 2013, and they signed to
Napalm Records the following year, as they continued to work on a new album. This was completed in December 2014. In February 2015, Coal Chamber revealed that the album's title was
Rivals. They premiered the song "I.O.U. Nothing" online in March, and released a lyric video for "Suffer in Silence", which features
Al Jourgensen, the following month. The album was released on May 19, 2015, and was their first studio album in 13 years, as well as their first to be released by
Napalm Records. In May 2016, Fafara confirmed during an interview with
Blunt magazine that Coal Chamber was on indefinite hiatus, stating that due to the current success of his other band DevilDriver, Coal Chamber "has no place in my life whatsoever at this point." In June 2017, Fafara explained that he would start performing Coal Chamber songs with DevilDriver, coming to the realization that Coal Chamber would probably never tour or make music ever again. He then went on to say that the band is "done forever". In July 2018, Fafara officially announced that Coal Chamber was not coming back. In 2020, Fafara spoke about the band's status during an interview with Metal Hammer. When asked about a possible reunion, Fafara stated: "I'm not gonna say no, because we've all spoken", adding, "The main thing for me is that the relationship is all good after numerous fallouts in the beginning and after some stuff went horribly wrong when we got back together to release [2015 comeback album]
Rivals. The vibe in that camp is very cool at the moment, and we all have each other's backs. I wouldn't put it past us, but right now I'm definitely concentrating on Devildriver".
Second reunion (2022–present) Coal Chamber announced their second reunion in November 2022 as well as their scheduled appearance at the 2023
Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. He later indicated the possibility of new music down the line, saying, "I realized that any problem we've ever had is gone". The band embarked on a US tour in 2023 and a short tour of Australia in 2024. They were slated to begin touring again in 2025, but plans were postponed due to Fafara's health issues. In February 2026, the band was announced as part of the lineup for the
Louder Than Life music festival in
Louisville, scheduled to take place in September. ==Musical style and influences==