February 17th, 2010 
James Shotwell 
Artist: Chelsea Grin
Album: Desolation Of Eden
Genre: Deathcore
Label: Artery Recordings
Named after a torture method that involves cutting a victims face from ear to ear, Utah based deathcore band, Chelsea Grin’s name alone screams brutal. Following the seemingly abiding blueprints the deathcore genre has set, there are two distinct features that set them apart from their contemporaries, age and dedication. With the majority of members only being 18 and 19 they have already proven their talent and hard work. Since their formation in March of 2008, they have toured the western states, an impressive, four times in a small van on an extremely tight budget, which often led them to spend nights in Wal-Mart Parking lots. After releasing a five song EP and playing small local shows, they were able to build an established fan base in Utah but then extended their following once getting recognition through their live shows, touring, and word of mouth. Two years in the waiting, their debut album, Desolation Of Eden, is now available on Artery Records.
Compared to their EP the music is relatively the same and “Judgement,” kicks off with a little over a minute of heart stopping chugs, which dominates the album as a whole. Slow pummeling and trudging breakdowns, relentless double bass work, furies of blast beats combined with melodic fretwork make up, “Desolation of Eden,” and “False Sense of Sanity.” These are common for bands in this genre but their execution is exceptional.
Although the extremely high pitched shrieking vocals can become daunting to listen to, they have developed immensely since their EP. Kicking the atrocious inhales to the curb, vocalist Alex Koehlr, now only does exhales, which is a big step in the right direction. The low gutturals, especially at the crescendo of, “Sonnet of the Wretched,” are earth shaking and sent chills down my spine. Lyrically, they have also evolved, from previous stereotypical, misogynistic lyrics about brutally killing the girls that they hate to more mature and relatively subtle lyrics about breaking away from authority. However, they re-recorded “Cheyne Stokes,” and “Recreant,” so you’ll still hear gruesome lines similar to, “I will make your insides on the f***king outside. I’ll tear through your skin and watch you rot.”
“The Human Condition,” and “Recreant,” have extensive intricate and technical guitar solos and “Elysium,” show they are capable of executing more than skull-fracturing breakdowns by slowing it down with a melodic interlude. The album closes with the unfortunately, redundant filler, “Wasteland.” The cryptic and indiscernible spoken words are abrasive and personally I think this track was monotonous and unneeded.
Overall, Chelsea Grin have already built a solid foundation by employing chunky and low tuned guitars, heavy riffs, fierce drumming, obscure vocals and meaty chugging. It is virtually impossible to stand out in the deathcore scene but this is one of the more respectable albums in recent months. If you were a fan of them before, you will undoubtedly enjoy Desolation Of Eden. Taking into consideration that they are still a very young band and this is only their debut album, I can only imagine them improving from here. Pick up this album and be sure to catch them on the Burgers and Bowling tour with The Red Chord, MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE, and Those Who Lie Beneath.
Score: 7/10
Review written by: Nerissa Judd
- 2015’s Most Underrated Films - December 29, 2015
- Passing The Torch: The End Of An Era For UTG - December 1, 2015
- UTG PREMIERE: Before The Streetlights – “Private Browser” - November 26, 2015
Posted in 
Tags: 
Just subscribed to the blog last month, keep the great updates coming.
Really good site, where did you come up with the info in this write-up? I’m happy I found it though, ill be checking back soon to see what other articles you have.