Chelsea Grin is a pummeling six-piece deathcore band out of Utah who just released their first full-length CD on Artery Recordings (a Razor & Tie imprint). Desolation of Eden follows the band's 2008 debut 5-song EP (Statik Factory) and contains re-recordings of the EP's "Recreant" and "Cheyne Stokes" (live video below).

Describing this disc as "brutal" is about the equivalent of describing a typhoon as "windy". A 'chelsea grin' in soccer hooligan terminology is the act of cutting a rival's mouth with either a credit card or blade and then kicking them in the crotch; the band delivers the musical equivalent of this beatdown. Chelsea Grin features three guitarists who play downtuned start/stop speed-burst riffs and chugging breakdowns while Alex Koehlr delivers vocals that range from a Cookie Monster bass growl to a high-pitched banshee shriek. The bass and double bass drumming are beyond technically precise as they stay in pounding lock-step.



I'm not a huge fan of many deathcore bands as it seems, across the genre, that power and brutality are valued significantly more than melody but there are a couple of songs on Desolation of Eden which caught my ear. "The Human Condition" has a killer melodic guitar line which sets the stage for the instrumental track "Elysium" that follows. There is also the disc's finale, "Wasteland", where Alex Koehlr's murmured vocals are buried beneath chugging riffs. For fans of the genre, there should be more than enough here to sink your teeth into.

The band has built a solid fan base by constant touring over the last two years and they are currently out on the Burgers & Bowling tour with The Red Chord, MyChild MyBride and Those Who Lie Beneath. The tour is skipping NYC (why is it no longer a surprise that a lot of metal show skip the City?) and the closest date is March 12th at School of Rock in Hackensack, NJ.

Burgers & Bowling Tour
Featuring: The Red Chord (Metal Blade), My Child My Bride, Chelsea Grin and Those Who Lie Beneath
Mar 01, 2010 8:00PM, Flagstaff, Arizona
Mar 02, 2010 8:00PM, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 03, 2010 8:00PM, Amarillo, Texas
Mar 04, 2010 8:00PM, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mar 05, 2010 8:00PM, Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 06, 2010 8:00PM, Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 07, 2010 8:00PM, Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 08, 2010 8:00PM, New Brookland Tavern, Columbia, South Carolina
Mar 09, 2010 8:00PM, Raleigh, North Carolina
Mar 11, 2010 8:00PM, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Mar 12, 2010 8:00PM, South Hackensack, New Jersey
Mar 13, 2010 8:00PM, Webster Underground, Hartford, Connecticut
Mar 14, 2010 8:00PM, Water Front Tavern, Holyoke, Massachusetts

Chelsea Grin Headlining Tour
Mar 15, 2010 8:00PM, The Vibe Lounge, Rockville Centre, New York
Mar 16, 2010 8:00PM, Masquerade Club @ Crocodile, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Mar 17, 2010 8:00PM, The Modern Exchange, Southgate, Michigan
Mar 19, 2010 8:00PM, Bobby Mcgees, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Mar 20, 2010 8:00PM, The El Torreon, Kansas City, Missouri
Mar 21, 2010 8:00PM, Marquis Theater, Denver, Colorado

Links:
Chelsea Grin