Chelsea Grin “Ashes to Ashes” Review
Let me start off by saying I have and will always be a Chelsea Grin fan. Whether it’s the fact that they are one of the first bands that really got me into heavier music, or that they were an accomplice to my teenage rebellion, I have always had a soft spot for this band. This doesn’t deter me from wanting to rip my ears off half way through a play-through of Desolation Of Eden. There is only so much I can take of the same riffs and same breakdowns over and over again, so I had mixed feelings about listening to an hour long album from a band that is notorious for making me feel this way in the past.
This is a bold album that could have went one way or another. Mixing elements from both the old and the new, Ashes To Ashes is an expertly blended masterpiece for both fans of My Damnation (2011) and Evolve (2012). There seems to be something for everyone.
Track List
1. Playing with Fire
2. Pledge Allegiance
3. Morte ætérna
4. Nightmares
5. Illuminate
6. Sellout
7. Waste Away
8. Ashes…
9. …To Ashes
10. Angels Shall Sin, Demons Shall Pray
11. Letters
12. Cheers to Us
13. Clockwork
14. Undying
15. Dust to Dust…
The album starts off just the way I like — diving right in with an intense opener that is reminiscent of older Chelsea Grin. Alex’s vocals have definitely improved and we see this with a lot of variety through out the album (aka, it isn’t just a bunch of high pitched screeching.) It’s also really nice to hear Pablo getting a bit more recognition for his voice, as he takes over quite a few lows while letting Alex handle his signature highs.
Pledge Allegiance was probably my least favorite track. It just felt generic in parts and very overdone. I felt like I was listening to every other deathcore song currently out there. Nightmares also annoyed me. I don’t like waiting forever for a song to start just for it to be very anticlimactic when it does happen. However, the guitar riffs made the wait a bit worth while. By the end of the track, I was just sitting around feeling like I missed something.
Waste Away is probably the next track that really catches my attention. While it begins in similar fashion to Nightmares, it ends up being catchier and just easier to tolerate. And as far as lyrics go, what metal fan can’t relate to drinking until they hate their life? Alex did say he wanted this album to lyrically reflect more relatable issues… Nailed it.
Ashes… was boring, but it trends nicely into …To Ashes (duh), and if this is a preview of what we will continue to see from Chelsea Grin, I won’t be disappointed. I really liked the fact that they gave everyone else in the band other than Alex and Pablo time to shine — because they prove in these tracks alone that they definitely deserve it. These two songs are wedged right in the middle of the album and in a sense, I could feel it being an ode to the title in more ways than just the obvious. While the phrase “ashes to ashes” references death, the pace picks up in “…To Ashes” and sheds a little light on the band’s desired positive mindset for the album. It’s got a “light at the end of the tunnel” feel, as if to show the end isn’t really the end. Nope, you still have about half an hour to go.
While I wanted to say Angels Shall Sin, Demons Shall Pray is cheesy, it’s actually catchy as fuck. I wasn’t a fan when they first debuted it before the album’s release, but it definitely grew on me. “You say you’re close to God, I’d really like to meet him,” gets me every time.
This concludes what felt like the longest album of my life. At nearly an hour, this album earned my respect and attention through the various chances the band clearly took to create it. It is everything the band expected it to be all the way from the lyrics with their real world issues to the raw energy that was poured into every precisely placed note. Old school fans will be thrilled. There are things for new fans — for fans of Evolve — but at the end of the day, it’s still very much Chelsea Grin and unless you’re a CG fan in general, you probably won’t make it half way through.
www.chelseagrinmetal.com
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About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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