Ohio groove metal veterans Chimaira officially closed the book on their long-running Chimaira Christmas tradition last night with a hometown show at The Agora in Cleveland, OH. The annual holiday concerts originally began in 2000 and ran consistently through 2013, before the band’s 2014 breakup put the tradition on ice.
Following Chimaira‘s reunion with their classic-era lineup in 2017, the Christmas shows returned sporadically (including last night’s performance) but that chapter has now come to a close.
Despite the finality of the moment, vocalist Mark Hunter made it clear that Chimaira themselves are not done. Addressing fans on social media, Hunter explained the reasoning behind ending the holiday tradition: “Is this the last Christmas show? Yes. But not because we are done jamming — it’s because it’s time to do something different. If we are going to have these kinds of parties, let’s do it when it is warm!”
For a final holiday sendoff, Chimaira made sure the night was memorable. The Agora set featured several setlist surprises and long-awaited live moments, including:
- “Impending Doom” — live debut (from 2009’s The Infection)
- “Inside The Horror” — played live for the first time since 2010
- “Wrapped In Violence” — first-ever live performance with the classic-era lineup (from 2013)
The deep cuts and debuts served as a fitting reward for longtime fans who have supported the band through breakups, reunions, and everything in between. The full setlist was:
- “The Dehumanizing Process”
- “Nothing Remains”
- “The Flame”
- “Impending Doom” (First known live performance)
- “Pictures in the Gold Room”
- “Year of the Snake”
- “Destroy and Dominate”
- “Needle”
- “Inside the Horror” (First time since 2010)
- “Pure Hatred”
- “Lazarus”
- “Resurrection”
- “Wrapped in Violence” (First time since 2014)
- “Let Go”
- “Severed”
- “Power Trip”
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