Chevelle – “12 Bloody Spies: B-Sides and Rarities” [Album Review]

Chevelle fans biding their time as they await a new studio release can sink their teeth into 12 Bloody Spies: B-Sides and Rarities for a dozen obscure tracks spanning back as far as 2002. There’s a good chance die-hard fans have already heard some, if not all of these songs before, but for rest of the world 12 Bloody Spies presents us with a dozen quality compiled cuts.

What is immediately apparent on this collection is that 12 discarded Chevelle tracks sound better than what passes as a commercially released hard rock album for a lot of other bands polluting our musical landscape with their material. That’s merely a testament to the songwriting prowess of Pete Loeffler, Sam Loeffler, and Dean Bernardini. What will really be interesting is to see if any of these songs manage to chart on radio given that they were all discards for whatever reasons. “A Miracle,” “In Debt To The Earth,” “Until You’re Reformed,” and “Delivery” all sound like quintessential Chevelle to this listener, and I can only assume they will resonate in a similar fashion to the world at large.

Stream the band’s official 12 Bloody Spies: B-Sides and Rarities album teaser.

Chevelle is already promising a new album and subsequent touring in 2019, so for now, pop on 12 Bloody Spies and enjoy peeking into the creative process with the band as you get to hear songs they felt weren’t quite working on their last seven releases. Chevelle continues to be a band that manages to deliver inspired heavy rock, album after album, even here on a cull of their b-sides. Play it loud, and play it lots!

12 Bloody Spies: B-Sides and Rarities Track Listing:

01. A Miracle 5:31
02. Sleep Walking Elite 3:40
03. In Debt To The Earth 4:12
04. Sleep Apnea (Acoustic Version) 2:25
05. The Clincher (Version 103) 3:41
06. Fizgig 4:55
07. Glimpse Of The Con 6:01
08. Indifference 2:10
09. Until You’re Reformed 4:01
10. The Gist 1:46
11. Delivery 3:06
12. Leto’s Headache 4:22

Run Time: 45:50
Release Date: October 26, 2018
Record Label: Epic Records

The song “Sleep Walking Elite” is a great example of this album’s power.