# Wonder What's Next
**Wonder What's Next** is the second studio album by the American rock band Chevelle, released in 2002 by [Epic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/epic-records) as the band's major-label debut and its commercial breakthrough.[1](https://www.newreleasetoday.com/album/6892-wonder-whats-next) The eleven-track record spawned three successful singles, "The Red", "Send the Pain Below", and "Closure", went platinum in the United States, and remains the band's most commercially successful album.[1](https://www.newreleasetoday.com/album/6892-wonder-whats-next) • [2](https://record.club/releases/albums/chevelle-wonder-whats-next)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / position | Second studio album and major-label debut by Chevelle, an alternative metal trio of brothers Pete, Sam, and Joe Loeffler[1](https://www.newreleasetoday.com/album/6892-wonder-whats-next) • [3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/7ff4a3e5-258c-4362-903e-0f06c3dda4db) |
| Release | Released in 2002 by Epic Records; sources give August 27, 2002[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/wonder-whats-next-mw0000224363) and October 8, 2002[2](https://record.club/releases/albums/chevelle-wonder-whats-next) |
| Length / tracks | 11 songs, about 46 minutes[5](https://open.spotify.com/album/6XZC5KaoxWMk9V0sUTErYX) |
| Recording | Recorded at a warehouse in Vancouver, British Columbia; produced by GGGarth and mixed by Andy Wallace[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/7ff4a3e5-258c-4362-903e-0f06c3dda4db) |
| Chart peak | No. 14 on the US Billboard 200[6](https://www.last.fm/music/Chevelle/Wonder%2BWhat%27s%2BNext) |
| Certifications | RIAA Platinum on June 24, 2003; Double Platinum on May 29, 2020[7](https://www.riaarockawards.com/awards-blog/chevelle-wonder-whats-next-platinum-award) |
## Release and label move
Chevelle had recorded its first album, *Point #1* (1999), for the Christian-rock label Squint Entertainment. For the follow-up the band took a deal with Epic Records, making *Wonder What's Next* its first release for a major label.[8](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/62417/Chevelle-Wonder-Whats-Next/)
The release date is reported differently by major catalog sources. AllMusic, the [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) cover-art record, and NewReleaseToday give August 27, 2002,[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/wonder-whats-next-mw0000224363) • [9](https://musicbrainz.org/release/140b40a5-8e2a-40d6-a978-1fbd15187a12/cover-art) • [1](https://www.newreleasetoday.com/album/6892-wonder-whats-next) while several album-reference sites, and the RIAA awards history, give October 8, 2002.[2](https://record.club/releases/albums/chevelle-wonder-whats-next) • [7](https://www.riaarockawards.com/awards-blog/chevelle-wonder-whats-next-platinum-award)
## Recording and personnel
The album was recorded at a warehouse in Vancouver, British Columbia, and mixed at Soundtrack Studios in New York. Producer GGGarth (Garth Richardson) took over from [Steve Albini](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-albini), who had worked on the debut; Michael "Elvis" Baskette engineered and Andy Wallace mixed, with Ben Kaplan handling digital editing.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/7ff4a3e5-258c-4362-903e-0f06c3dda4db) The band's three members are brothers: Pete Loeffler on guitar and lead vocals, Sam Loeffler on drums, and Joe on bass, and Pete Loeffler wrote the lyrics.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/7ff4a3e5-258c-4362-903e-0f06c3dda4db)
## Commercial performance
**The singles made the album.** "The Red" reached No. 3 on the Mainstream rock chart and its video went into regular rotation on MTV;[6](https://www.last.fm/music/Chevelle/Wonder%2BWhat%27s%2BNext) the album itself soon peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200.[6](https://www.last.fm/music/Chevelle/Wonder%2BWhat%27s%2BNext) "Send the Pain Below" and "Closure" followed as successful second and third singles.[1](https://www.newreleasetoday.com/album/6892-wonder-whats-next) The band performed "The Red" on *The Late Show with David Letterman*.[1](https://www.newreleasetoday.com/album/6892-wonder-whats-next)
In the United States the album passed one million copies within roughly a year of release and earned its RIAA Platinum certification on June 24, 2003.[10](https://device.report/m/28bddff388fc75f39cf4e37e5e2ed190263a15f679dc77199d09eb2d178a6ef1.pdf) • [7](https://www.riaarockawards.com/awards-blog/chevelle-wonder-whats-next-platinum-award) On May 29, 2020, the RIAA recognized *Wonder What's Next* as Double Platinum, marking more than two million copies sold; on the same date the single "Send the Pain Below" went Platinum and "The Red" went Double Platinum.[7](https://www.riaarockawards.com/awards-blog/chevelle-wonder-whats-next-platinum-award) The album also earned the band high-profile tour slots, including the main stage of Ozzfest 2003.[2](https://record.club/releases/albums/chevelle-wonder-whats-next)
## Reception
Contemporary and retrospective reviewers have generally treated the record as Chevelle's breakthrough. AllMusic called it "a fine example of higher quality Post-Grunge" that surpasses many of its contemporary releases.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/wonder-whats-next-mw0000224363) A Sputnikmusic review described it as "a benchmark record for Nu and Alternative Metal of the early 2000's", noting the heavily distorted low tunings and simple riffs executed with weight.[8](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/62417/Chevelle-Wonder-Whats-Next/) Reviewers frequently note the album's riff-centered songwriting and the contrast with the band's debut; the HM Magazine review judged it better produced than *Point #1*.[11](https://www.thelostarchives.net/review/chevelle-wonder-whats-next-hm-97/) The title track was also cited in one Sputnikmusic review as the heaviest song on the album.[12](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/4594/Chevelle-Wonder-Whats-Next/)
MusicBrainz records the album as entry 73 in the compilation ranking *Nu Metal Agenda: The 100 Greatest Nu Metal Albums of All Time*.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/7ff4a3e5-258c-4362-903e-0f06c3dda4db)
## Later editions
An expanded edition added four bonus tracks: "Until You're Reformed", "(High) Visibility" (a Helmet cover), "Black Boys on Mopeds" ([Sinéad O'Connor](https://www.edgepedia.org/sinead-oconnor)), and "It's No Good" ([Depeche Mode](https://www.edgepedia.org/depeche-mode)).[13](https://music.apple.com/us/album/wonder-whats-next-expanded-edition/270139029) • [3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/7ff4a3e5-258c-4362-903e-0f06c3dda4db) A Japan edition on the EICP-218 catalog number, released June 4, 2003, included its own bonus tracks.[14](https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/EICP-218) The album reached vinyl for the first time on July 9, 2021, on Epic/Legacy/[Sony Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-music) (catalog 875141).[15](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/wonder-whats-next-mr0005410234)
## References
1. [Wonder What's Next by Chevelle, NewReleaseToday](https://www.newreleasetoday.com/album/6892-wonder-whats-next)
2. [Wonder What's Next (2002) by Chevelle, Record Club](https://record.club/releases/albums/chevelle-wonder-whats-next)
3. [Release "Wonder What's Next" by Chevelle, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/7ff4a3e5-258c-4362-903e-0f06c3dda4db)
4. [Chevelle: Wonder What's Next Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/wonder-whats-next-mw0000224363)
5. [Wonder What's Next - Album by Chevelle, Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/6XZC5KaoxWMk9V0sUTErYX)
6. [Wonder What's Next, Chevelle, Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Chevelle/Wonder%2BWhat%27s%2BNext)
7. [Chevelle's Wonder What's Next Platinum Award & Milestones in Rock History, RIAA Rock & Metal Awards](https://www.riaarockawards.com/awards-blog/chevelle-wonder-whats-next-platinum-award)
8. [Chevelle - Wonder What's Next (album review), Sputnikmusic](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/62417/Chevelle-Wonder-Whats-Next/)
9. [Release "Wonder What's Next" by Chevelle - Cover art, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/140b40a5-8e2a-40d6-a978-1fbd15187a12/cover-art)
10. [Year In Music (Billboard year-end supplement), device.report](https://device.report/m/28bddff388fc75f39cf4e37e5e2ed190263a15f679dc77199d09eb2d178a6ef1.pdf)
11. [Chevelle - Wonder What's Next review, HM Magazine #97, The Lost Archives](https://www.thelostarchives.net/review/chevelle-wonder-whats-next-hm-97/)
12. [Chevelle - Wonder What's Next (album review), Sputnikmusic](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/4594/Chevelle-Wonder-Whats-Next/)
13. [Wonder What's Next (Expanded Edition), Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/wonder-whats-next-expanded-edition/270139029)
14. [CDJapan: Wonder What's Next, Chevelle CD Album (EICP-218)](https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/EICP-218)
15. [Wonder What's Next - Chevelle Release Info (2021 LP), AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/wonder-whats-next-mr0005410234)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Metal and hardcore albums › Nu metal and alternative metal albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license