During an appearance on the latest episode of Knotfest’s ‘She’s With The Band,’ Coal Chamber bassist Nadja Peulen discussed her feelings about being labeled one of the ‘hottest women in metal’ in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She explained how that sort of attention never really bothered her.
“I didn’t mind. Yeah, I mean, it’s a compliment. I think as a woman, you kind of — how do I say this? — as women, most of the time we get a lot of attention anyway, and then being on stage, whether it’s with music, acting, comedy, modeling, whatever, it just amplifies the whole thing,” she explained. “And sometimes it’d be a little embarrassing too.”
The bassist continued, “I remember I had to announce Slipknot at the Kerrang! Awards, [in], I don’t know, 2002 or something, and when they announced me to come on stage to introduce them, they did the whole ‘hot woman’ thing and it really — at that moment, I was, like, ‘Oh, no. This is so embarrassing.’ It’s, like, ‘Is this all I’m known for?’ And so I had to go on stage and introduce them, and I lost my voice. I got really nervous and uncomfortable about it. But at the end of the day, it’s a compliment. So I don’t mind it at all.”
Peulen joined Coal Chamber in 2002 to replace Rayna Foss after she left the band to focus on motherhood. The rocker then left the band, but later rejoined back in 2013, this time to replace Chela Rhea Harper.
Coal Chamber was originally formed in 1993 and was active until 2003, before shortly reuniting between 2011 and 2016. After the band’s breakup, frontman Dez Fafara continued to perform Coal Chamber songs with his other band, DevilDriver, during live shows. In 2018, Fafara stated that he believed Coal Chamber was ‘done, and I think it’s done forever.’ However, the band announced another reunion in 2022 and has since performed at festivals and toured alongside Mudvayne.
