Coal Chamber

Dark Days is the third disc for the Southern California quartet, and it also marks the exit of bassist Rayna Foss-Rose (who is bailing from the band to devote more time to her kid). Vocalist Dez Fafara continues to gauge a place for himself in the world of nu metal with this disc, and tracks like "One Step" and "Empty Jar" slowly build in their brilliance. The refreshing aspect about Dark Days is that although they deal with dark subjects within their songs, they approach these touchy topics with a note of positive release. No matter how bad it sounds in a Coal Chamber tune, they sound like they will make it through, which makes this disc brave. No song exemplifies that approach more than the title track, "Dark Days," "If it's meant to be/Then set it free/If it's meant to be/It'll come back, you'll see." As a package, Dark Days is a good investment for a Coal Chamber fan and just might convert a few folks.