| Chelsea Grin | |
|---|---|
Chelsea Grin performing in Las Vegas in 2011. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Genres | Deathcore |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Artery, Statik Factory |
| Associated acts | Ahaziah, Hermione |
| Website | www.chelseagrinmetal.com |
| Members | |
| Alex Koehler Andrew Carlston Mike Stafford Dan Jones Jake Harmond David Flinn |
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Chelsea Grin is an American deathcore band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Formed in 2007, the group is currently signed to Artery Recordings and have released one EP and two full-length albums. Their band name is derived from the torture method of the same name.
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Chelsea Grin was founded in Salt Lake City during March 2007 by vocalist, Alex Koehler and (former) guitarist Chris Kilbourn. Prior to being named Chelsea Grin, Koehler and Kilbourn were in local Salt Lake City band named "Ahaziah", but changed their named to Chelsea Grin in March 2008, naming themselves after the infamous torture maneuver known as a Glasgow smile or "Chelsea grin".[1] At this time, the band continued to recruit new members, replacing the ones during the time of being Ahaziah. The group gained bassist Austin Marticorena and lead guitarist Michael Stafford. Marticorena introduced Andrew Carlston to Chelsea Grin and assisted in rewriting their current songs as well as the creation of new material. This writing process lead to the tracks listed on their first release, a self-titled EP that was first streamed and released online through iTunes and then released in Compact Disc format worldwide on July 27, 2008.[2] The band released the songs "Crewcabanger" and "Lifeless" as singles, both of which was received by listening audiences very well.
Following the release of the self-titled EP in July 2008, the signing to Statik Factory Records, and a few small successful west coast tours, Austin Morticorena (bass) decided to leave the band for personal reasons. Shortly after, the band acquired Jaek Harmond to temporarily fill in on bass while the band found a permanent member. Not long after, the band ousted drummer Andrew Carlston, and Kory Shilling took his place, as well as Davis Pugh taking over the full-time bass player position. In April 2009, original drummer, Carlston decided to return to the band replacing, Shilling, and guitar player, and original member Chris Killbourn then left the band to start his own record label, Matchless Records. Shortly thereafter, the band nitched Jaek Harmond once again as their substitute rhythm guitar player until the band could find a permanent member.
Soon after the band started to write the follow-up to the self-titled EP, they decided to take a new route and switch Davis Pugh from being bassist into being a third guitar player after David Flinn joined the band as bassist. The band then was added to a small, week long Canadian run in June 2009 with The Agonist, A Plea for Purging, Arsonists Get All the Girls and Statik Factory labelmates, Attila. After the successful tour, fill-in guitar player Jaek Harmond decided to become a full-time member, and the band joined into a contract with Artery Foundation representatives, Mike Milford and Eric Rushing whom then booked studio time for Chelsea Grin to record their debut full-length, Desolation of Eden at Lambesis Studios in San Marcos, California during August 2009. The album was produced by As I Lay Dying vocalist and studio founder, Tim Lambesis.[3] One week prior to heading into the studio, guitar player Davis Pugh decided to leave the band, and was replaced with ex-bandmate of Jaek Harmond; Dan Jones, of another local Salt Lake City band, Hermione. Whilst in the studio the band inked a deal with Artery Recordings, a label that was imprinted between The Artery Foundation and Razor & Tie.[4]
After recording their debut record, Desolation of Eden, the band embarked on their first full US tour featuring Dr. Acula, American Me, and Attila. Desolation of Eden was released on February 16, 2010 and reached number 21 on The Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart selling 1,500 copies its first week.[5] With the success of their debut, the band was afterwards featured and praised in Alternative Press, Utah newspapers and many other magazines nationwide and worldwide.[6]
In August 2010, while the band was in Richmond, VA on the Thrash and Burn tour, vocalist Alex Koehler received a serious injury to his jaw, having it fractured in three places, which required the band to drop off its final week. Koehler was rushed out of the venue receiving surgery. The band had plans to head to Canada with Blind Witness and Attila on a 2-week tour in September 2010, however, these shows were canceled. The cancelation was the band's choice over having a substitute for Kohler due to their beliefs that they would rather perform in their entire line-up as is rather than maintain a stand-in.[7]
Two Songs that debuted on the band's self-titled EP; "Cheyne Stokes" and "Recreant", were re-recorded for Desolation of Eden. As of December 2010, the album has sold over 15,000 copies. There are currently two music videos from the record, "Sonnet of the Wretched" and "Recreant". The music video for "Sonnet of the Wretched" was filmed on June 4, 2010 as the band headlined a sold-out show at The Boardwalk in Orangvale, CA, the video was then released on July 7, 2010. In September 2010, while on tour with Iwrestledabearonce, Eyes Set to Kill, The Chariot and Vanna, the band recorded a music video for the single "Recreant" on a recording set held in Northern California, the video debuted January 13, 2011 on Metal Injection. In December 2010, Chelsea Grin confirmed Chris "Zeuss" Harris as the chosen producer for the recording of their follow-up album to Desolation of Eden, and would enter the studio for its recording by January 13, 2011.
Chelsea Grin finished writing and recording their second full-length album by June 2011 where it was titled My Damnation, which lead to its release on July 19, 2011. On April 17 Artery Recordings released the title track as the album's lead single off the album, having a music video produced for it weeks later.[8] The song "All Hail The Fallen King" featuring Phil Bozeman, vocalist of Whitechapel, also premiered before the record's release.[9]
Chelsea Grin toured in-support of the album with Emmure and Attila before being included on the All Stars Tour, which featured those same bands and many others such as After the Burial, Born of Osiris and Motionless in White.[10]
Chelsea Grin are set to play the entire Warped Tour 2012.[11] They also plan on releasing a new 5-song EP sometime in mid-2012.[12]
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| Title | Year | Director | From the album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Sonnet of the Wretched" | 2010 | Stefan Anderson | Desolation of Eden |
| "Recreant" | 2011 | Stefan Anderson | |
| "My Damnation" | 2011 | Ramon Boutviseth | My Damnation |
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