How many deathgrind bands does it take to make a good demo?  Just one: Chelsea Grin.  It’s hard to break in to the deathgrind genre and make people take notice, especially when you come from a place like Salt Lake City, but these guys have done it.  Chelsea Grin‘s self-titled E.P. is pretty much as good as it gets as far as demo’s go.

How do you stay original in a genre full of bands that sound exactly the same?  The answer is easy, just be amazing at what you do.  Chelsea Grin has proven that’s exactly what they do.  The music on this demo at first listen sounds much like any other deathgrind band, but when you listen closely you can hear the intricacies in the guitar parts that we haven’t really heard before.  If you listen closely you can pick out the somewhat distinct vocal style that is much like Carnifex, but somehow completely different. 

Chelsea Grin has found a way to make breakdowns original again, not just Acacia Strain tri-tone rip-offs. The guitarists attention to detail is very precise, and you can tell he didn’t just learn chug chug parts and then fake through some sweep picking scales.  This guy can play.

The only real problems I have with this demo is the quality and the drumming.  Obviously the quality will improve when we get a full length release.  For a demo this sounds pretty good, but that’s still saying it’s demo quality.  The drumming is nothing new or progressive.  It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect to hear in the situations you’re put in.

All things considered this is one of the best demo’s I’ve heard in a long time.  I know that Alex at Statik Factory will treat these guys right, and you can expect an amazing full length soon.  Get your pig squeals ready, the full length will probably come soon, and you better believe Chelsea Grin will rip your faces off and mail them to your mothers.