Source: Album artwork
Two years on from Ashes to Ashes, Chelsea Grin have been subject to a few notable changes. Guitarist Jason Richardson was replaced by Stephen Rutishauser, and then the band went on to become stablemates with The Devil Wears Prada and Of Mice & Men when they got signed to Rise Records. But what does that mean in terms of new album Self Inflicted?
Firstly, the instrumentation is still on point. This album is tighter than ever from the Salt Lake City sextet; Alex Koehler‘s vocals are as vicious as ever and continue to grow. Pablo Viveros Segura‘s furious double-pedalling is truly something to behold, and the guitar work is more distinguished than ever, with a new melodic overture being introduced, which we will come back to later.
‘Welcome Back’ doesn’t mess about and launches straight into a wall of sound with all the destructive qualities of a nuclear bomb. But one drawback quickly rears it’s head here – the lyrical content has regressed to the realms of edgy, angsty teen bands starting out. Lines such as “Feeling dead inside / It’s something I can’t hide / We are living for today / We don’t care about tomorrow / We don’t care about tomorrow no / We’re just living for today” are hardly indicative of a band moving forwards in their development, no matter what the rest of the content sounds like. And sadly, this is a theme throughout the release, with ‘Love Song’ another heavy offender. Rather than following in the footsteps of the previously-mentioned label-mates who are some of the most valuable property on the deathcore scene at the moment, they run the risk of aligning themselves with the likes of Emmure or Attila in unfavourable lyrical territory.
But in terms of the music, it really isn’t all bad news. ‘Clickbait’ stands as one of the heaviest-hitting tracks in their repertoire, and takes a good shot at the state of the media and celebrity culture. The aforementioned melodic tones are a very welcome addition too, and are not overused, rather peppered sparingly throughout and drawing influence more than entirely changing their sound. ‘Four Horsemen’ and ‘Never, Forever’ are shining examples of this new sonic dimension for the band.
Overall, it’s good to have Chelsea Grin back again. If they could continue the gothic, melodic development, then it would be very welcome, especially if it means less deathcore-by-numbers and less stereotypes being adhered to, particularly where lyrics are concerned.
