Arriving in 2016,
Self Inflicted saw the SLC deathcore crew deliver another face-melting set of relentless, palm-muted riffage and knotty breakdowns. As sonically reliable as it was, it marked the end of the journey for frontman Alex Koehler and guitarist Jacob Harmond, both of whom left the fold shortly after the album's release. That makes
Eternal Nightmare the band's first release to not feature any founding members, but turbulence has served as the wind beneath
Chelsea Grin's wings since their inception in 2007, and while they may not have taken this transitional moment to reinvent themselves, they certainly haven't lost their appetites for destruction. Operating as a lean four-piece with ex-
Lorna Shore vocalist Tom Barber behind the mike,
Chelsea Grin 2.0 wastes little time getting to the point, offering up a cursory bit of steel door closing and chain rattling ambience before delivering a massive blow to the head with "Dead Rose," a three-and-a-half-minute tutorial on how to distill discord into decibels. The rest of the 11-track set follows suit, administering an endless barrage of blast beats and atonal riffing that eventually renders the listener's eardrums into a limp, pulpy mass of dead tissue. ~ James Christopher Monger