Songfacts®:

• "Send The Pain Below" is the second single from Chevelle's sophomore album, Wonder What's Next (2002). It finds lead singer/guitarist Pete Loeffler holding onto pain as a token of his toxic relationship. "I liked having hurt," he sings. "So send the pain below, where I need it." The band's drummer, Sam Loeffler, said the song "is about taking the hardships in your life and making art out of it. Because, you gotta get it out some way."
• Chevelle overcame a number of obstacles to get their second album off the ground, including a messy lawsuit - their indie label was absorbed by its parent company, who refused to let them out of their contract - and a nightmare experience with their new producer. After finally settling their legal issues, they landed a deal with Epic Records for their major-label debut. The band headed to The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, Canada, where they were excited to work with producer Garth Richardson, who was known for his work on Rage Against The Machine's 1992 self-titled debut album. Unfortunately, the positive feelings were short-lived. According to the Loefflers, Richardson was high most of the time and played a lot of mind games with the band, perhaps with the aim of fueling an aggressive sound for the album. One tactic was alienating the group from the rest of the crew.
  
  "We didn't know that he had told all the people that worked in the studio not to hang out with us," Sam told the Garza Podcast in 2025. "So we were kinda on our own and people were being weird around us."
  
  Whether the technique was necessary or not, it did result in a hit album. Wonder What's Next peaked at #14 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart and sold 2 million copies in the US, earning a double-Platinum certification.
• Chevelle arrived in Vancouver on September 10, 2001, just one day before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on their home country. Pete said Richardson would needle the band about the situation, saying it would be years before they'd get to go home because the US would be going to war. While he was right about the war, he was wrong about Chevelle not being able to cross the border. After nine weeks in the studio, they got back home and started touring in support of the forthcoming album. They hit the road with the hard-rock bands Local H and Burning Brides that spring before making their Ozzfest debut in July 2002.
• Richardson can't be blamed for all of Chevelle's hardships during the making of the album. Bryan Adams, who owned the studio, had all of their gear taken down so he could throw a party. "It was all this big joke to bring in this kid who played piano with chopsticks," Sam recalled. "The whole thing was a big joke and they shut us down for days because of it."
• Pete did give props to Richardson for his guidance on "Send The Pain Below." The song was unfinished when Pete brought it to the producer, who immediately clocked that the bridge was subpar and told him to rewrite it. He also talked the band into recording "The Red" against their management's wishes.
• "Send The Pain Below" is Chevelle's first #1 hit on the Mainstream Rock chart. They reached the summit a few more times throughout their career with singles like "Vitamin R," "Face to the Floor" and "Self Destructor."
• Pain is a commodity in art, but the angsty variety that fueled a lot of Chevelle's earlier hits is something Pete Loeffler worked to leave behind. "I try and pick topics that aren't typical," he told Revolver's Fan First podcast in 2022. "They're not talking about breakups, they're not talking about all angst anymore. Or my teenage angst. I'll pick a topic just because it's different."
  
  The shift is evident on their 2009 album, Sci-Fi Crimes, which explores space travel and conspiracy theories.