The lineup of nu-metal-focused 2023 festival Sick New World is stacked with headlining-making names, from System of a Down and Korn to Deftones and Evanescence. Two of the most noteworthy are Flyleaf, who have reunited with OG singer Lacey Sturm after a decade apart, and Coal Chamber, who haven't played a show since 2015.
The latter band's Dez Fafara (vocals) and Mikey Cox (drums) both commented today (November 7th) on the impending reunion, with Cox confirming that the self-described "spookycore" group's 2023 lineup will include longtime members Meegs Rascón (guitar) and Nadja Peulen (bass).
Fafara kept his words brief: "#coalchamber is back #thatisall," he noted on Twitter. Cox had more to say on the matter.
"After our last tours in 2015 I was coming off stage very depressed and wanting to be home with my young son," the drummer explained in an extended Instagram post. "I was missing a lot and it started to really get to me. I made the decision , that if we stop again it was my last time ever playing again. After our last show ,it was over … and that's what I did. I completely retired from music and began focusing on my family life and raising our son."
Cox added, "Over the years I kept in contact with @dezfafara and I feel like for the first time in 25 years we actually became real friends . Both our families went through A LOT over the past years and we were actually there for each other . We actually listen to each other and that means more than any band at this point in my life .
"That slowly changed the conversation of starting to play again… and here we are!!! I really thought about this decision for a long time with my family and what it meant to jump back in and this was a family decision. Our son is older now and always asks about what I used to do… now I can just show him all the crazy hardcore Coal Chamber fans we have out there!!!."
Read his full post below.
#coalchamber is back #thatisall
— Dez Fafara (@evilriver) November 7, 2022