Candiria is a band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including hardcore/metal (often in a technical manner), jazz (often in freeform), hip hop, and even ambient sounds. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".^[1]

History

Candiria was initially formed in 1992 by vocalist Carley Coma, guitarists Chris Puma and Eric Matthews, and drummer Kenneth Schalk. Even early on they were creating unusual music, with vocals that ranged from dry barks to rap. Candiria's rhythmic guitar style consists of riffing with little melody interrupted by jazzy chord progressions during the jazz breaks. Ken Schalk's drumming often consists of polyrhythms. Michael MacIvor, in fact, may be the least metal-influenced member of the group, as apparent in his melodically complex basslines which frequently do not follow the guitar riffs.

Chris Puma was replaced by John Lamacchia before 1997's Beyond Reasonable Doubt, while Lamacchia himself left the band after 2004's What Doesn't Kill You..., later rejoining the band. The latter album features a cover photograph of the band's van after a heavy traffic accident it endured in 2002. It took the band members considerable time to recover from their injuries. Eric Matthews later left the band, in part, due to these injuries sustained during the aforementioned accident.

Drummer Ken Schalk, Bassist Mike MacIvor, and Guitarist John Lamacchia have been involved in a free-jazz side project named Ghosts Of The Canal, who have thus far released two full-length albums, Sessions from the Flats (1999) and Five Episodes From the Subconscious (2002), as well as two non-album tracks which appeared on the bonus disc of Candiria's The C.O.M.A. Imprint. Schalk left the band feeling it was his time to go and discover various new paths. Mike MacIvor left the band due to Schalk's departure. He stated " I will not try and pull the wool over anyone's eyes, including my own. There is no Candiria without Ken Schalk, as far as I am concerned." Carley Coma and Kenneth Schalk are now in the band Hope Kills Fear, a christian rock band, which "was created for the purpose of using heartfelt, catchy songs to spread a message of hope, faith, strength and perseverance."

"Candiria" is supposedly the plural form of candiru, the name of a freshwater fish found in the Amazon river. However, Ken Schalk has stated before that the band came up with the name, thinking it sounded like a real word, but not in fact knowing of this fish. The alleged plural is incorrect anyway: the name of the fish comes from the now extinct Old Tupi language, from where it passed on to Portuguese and later to other languages; in Portuguese, the plural form is simply candirus.^[2]

Members

Current

• Carley Coma - vocals (1992-present)
• John Lamacchia - guitar (1997-present)

Former

• Chris Puma - guitar (1992-1997)
• Eric Matthews - guitar (1992-2002)
• Kenneth Schalk - drums (1992-2006)
• Michael MacIvor - Bass ( 1998 - 2006) X merauder

Discography

Surrealistic Madness (1995)

1. "Temple of Sickness" - 6:43
2. "Wind" - 1:17
3. "Elevate in Madness" - 5:23
4. "Infected Wisdom" - 4:26
5. "Toying with the Insanities" - 1:02
6. "Mental Crossover" - 2:59
7. "Observing Highways" - 4:59
8. "Pages" - 5:30
9. "Weep" - 3:16
10. "Red Eye Flight" - 11:07

Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1997)

1. "Faction" - 5:14
2. "Year One" - 4:58
3. "Lost in the Forest" - 8:06
4. "Paradigm Shift" - 4:27
5. "Tribes" - 5:59
6. "Molecular Dialect" - 2:37
7. "Divided" - 4:18
8. "Mental Politics" - 4:53
9. "Riding the Spiral" - 0:35
10. "Primary Obstacle" - 3:56
11. "Intrusive Statements" - 20:03

The Process of Self-Development (1999)

1. "Three Times Again" - 5:51
2. "Onefortyeight" - 1:47
3. "Pull" - 3:55
4. "Method of Expression" - 3:55
5. "Temple of Sickness" - 6:21
6. "Mathematics" - 6:37
7. "Work in Progress" - 6:58
8. "Matter.Anti.Matter" - 5:33
9. "Cleansing" - 3:38
10. "Elevate in Madness" - 5:10
11. "Down to the Last Element" - 5:47
12. "The Process of Self-Development" - 8:27
13. "Leaving the Atmosphere" - 4:21

300 Percent Density (2001)

1. "300 Percent Density" - 6:05
2. "Signs of Discontent" - 3:00
3. "Without Water" - 3:53
4. "Mass" - 1:44
5. "Constant Velocity is as Natural as Being at Rest" - 4:26
6. "Words from the Lexicon" - 4:42
7. "Channeling Elements" - 5:42
8. "Advancing Positions" - 2:11
9. "The Obvious Destination" - 4:21
10. "Contents Under Pressure" - 6:31
11. "Opposing Meter" - 21:24

The C.O.M.A. Imprint (2002)

Disc One

1. "Paradigm Shift" - 4:25
2. "Year One" - 4:55
3. "Peel This Strip and Fold Here" - 4:19
4. "Faction" - 4:55
5. "Bring the Pain/Multiple Incisions" - 4:53
6. "Riding the Spiral" - 0:29
7. "Tribes" - 5:55
8. "Primary Obstacle" - 3:49
9. "Molecular Dialect" - 2:46
10. "Divided" - 4:17
11. "R-Evolutionize-R" - 9:30

Disc Two

1. "Blue Suede Timbs" (Coma New York) - 3:18
2. "Collective Unconscious" (The Moons Project) - 6:17
3. "That Which Survives" (Ghosts of the Canal) - 5:28
4. "Let the Mic Go" (Coma New York) - 3:12
5. "Hypnotic Oceans" (The Moons Project) - 4:45
6. "Richard Dreyfuss" (Ghosts of the Canal) - 6:14

What Doesn't Kill You... (2004)

1. "Dead Bury the Dead" - 3:24
2. "The Nameless King" - 3:34
3. "Blood" - 3:16
4. "Remove Yourself" - 3:46
5. "1000 Points of Light" - 4:02
6. "Down" - 3:31
7. "9MM Solution" - 3:37
8. "I Am" - 3:17
9. "Vacant" - 2:59
10. "The Rutherford Experiment" - 5:01

Kiss the Lie (2008)

1. "Icarus Syndrome" - 6:42
2. "Sirens" - 4:15
3. "Reflection Eleven" - 6:25
4. "The Sleeper" - 5:52
5. "Legion" - 5:59
6. "Alicia" - 1:33
7. "A Rose Dies in Eden" - 4:08
8. "Genuine" - 5:45
9. "Splinter" - 4:57
10. "Ascend" - 3:36
11. "Colby" - 2:23
12. "That Which Consumes" - 6:31

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Ankeny, Jason. "Candiria biography". Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-07-08. "Candiria's uniquely sprawling urban fusion sound combined elements of grindcore, funk, hip-hop, and jazz."
2. ^ Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Objetiva. 2007. ISBN 857302383X. 

External links

• Candiria at Allmusic
• Candiria at MySpace