Chiodos's constant touring paid off: Their new CD debuted at No. 5 on Billboard's album chart.
The members of Chiodos borrowed their name from the filmmakers behind the cult favorite "Killer Klowns From Outer Space," which was playing when they hatched the idea to form a band. So it's not surprising that they consider horror movies just as much a part of the band's DNA as any of their musical influences.
"[Horror movies] can take someone and make them feel completely out of their element while they're in the safety of their homes," says singer Craig Owens. "To push someone that far, to make someone feel that uneasy, it's always inspired me for some reason. Just with words and sounds and visual effects. And we do our best to touch people and make them feel a certain way when they're listening to our music as well."
It seems to be working. Chiodos's constant touring - crisscrossing the country countless times as headliner, support, and on multiple Warped Tours (the band plays the Roxy tonight) - has paid off in the form of the new "Bone Palace Ballet," debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. That's a massive jump from 2005's "All's Well That Ends Well," which peaked at 164.
Owens may joke about "Bone Palace" charting - "We picked a week we knew we stayed away from Kanye and 50," he says - but he still sees it as a vindication of the band's hard work over the past few years.
"You know, we didn't have a single. We didn't do radio. We had no video out. We only released two songs online. It's a completely indie, D.I.Y. thing. It's all cult following, a word-of-mouth-type scenario."
Formed in 2001 in Davison, Mich., a suburb of Flint, Chiodos's trajectory followed that of a lot of indie bands playing constantly in order to build up a grass-roots following. But the momentum ground to a halt in 2004 when Owens developed pneumonia, which worsened to a condition called empyema. The 6-foot-2-inch singer dropped from 160 pounds to 90 and both of his lungs collapsed.
During his four-month hospital stay, Owens had to relearn how to walk and sing, and the experience convinced several original members of Chiodos that it was time to pack it in. But Owens never considered leaving; it was the thought of returning to the band that kept him focused on his recovery.
"I'd keep a flier [for my homecoming show] at the end of my bed. I could see it in between my feet," says Owens. "That was the only thing that was really keeping me goal-oriented and healthy. I didn't realize it at the time. It didn't really occur to me until afterward what had really happened."
But even if his ordeal convinced Owens to make sure he eats and sleeps while on the road (things he used to occasionally let slip), there's little evidence of a lack of energy in either the band's touring schedule or on "Bone Palace." The songs mix the emo hyperliteracy of Panic! at the Disco with the metallic guitar grandeur of Queen, fitted out with manic piano arpeggios and self-contained joke titles like "If I Cut My Hair, Hawaii Will Sink."
As evidenced by Billboard, it's a combination that's picking up fans. Among them? The children of the Chiodo brothers of "Killer Klowns" fame. They helped arrange a visit to their fathers' studio, where the band was treated to tours of puppets and props from "Klowns," "Elf," and "Team America: World Police." Filmmaker Ed Chiodo has noticed another upside to the name-borrowing beyond simple flattery.
"It's funny, it's introduced our movie to a younger audience. Now we're associated with a much younger demographic because of the band," says Chiodo. "Hopefully, if we ever do get a "Killer Klowns" sequel off the ground, we'll have those guys do a song. So it'll be full circle."
Until then, Chiodos is on the road, while Owens focuses on staying healthy. And while nice, suggests Owens, chart positions are ultimately just numbers that don't tell the real story of how far Chiodos has come.
"You know, No. 5, No. 10, whatever it is, there were still 39,000 people or close to 40,000 [who bought the album]," he says. "That many people actually understand and got what it is that we were doing. To me, that's phenomenal."
Chiodos plays the Roxy, 279 Tremont St., tonight at 7. Tickets $16. 617-338-ROXY.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
