Chelsea Grin has been around long enough now to stomp any criticism regarding longevity. Their catalogue has ranged widely in concepts and approach and the sluggish, downtempo monotony of Desolation... has evolved drastically to their most recent output prior to Self Inflicted with varied leads and incredible drumming and production. After countless line up shifts, this amalgamation of the band finds the outfit more concise and connected than ever.
Aside from the EPs and riff raff releases, on their fourth collection Chelsea Grin has shed the three guitarists and went back to dual traditional efforts of beatdown and breakdowns, avoiding much of the eclectic elements that made Ashes To Ashes so exemplary. With their recent lineup shift, and losing one of their most creative members, the group finds itself batching up a one dimensional effort.
That's not to say that this isn't a fine release from the group. The rubbish that was the band's first EP which saw drummers hardly being able to keep up, alongside production that failed to correct obvious errors, is totally gone. We're still operating on a professional platform here. It's just that Ashes To Ashes was such a great album. The writing on it showcased refreshing sounds in metal that for a twenty year veteran stood out as unique and animated.
What we have here is really "the sounds of Chelsea Grin" which in the long scheme of things can be completely overlooked by their past two releases, which saw the group daring to reach for new heights and push their sound to the limit. This time around they captured studio fun and it seems as if the band wrote these songs exclusively for the live experience.
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