Thy Art Is Murder

Thy Art is Murder started in 2006 in Blacktown by vocalist vocalist Brendan van Ryn, guitarists Gary Markowski and Sean Delander, bassist Josh King and drummer Lee Stanton. They released their demo entitled “This Hole Isn’t Deep Enough for the Twelve of You” and released an EP in 2008 called “Infinite Death.” The band set out on extensive touring and after two years van Ryn departed the band; unfortunately it took a year for the band to find another lead singer, Chris “CJ” McMahon. Also, bassist Mick Lowe replaced King early in 2010.

On 16 July 2010 Thy Art is Murder released their first full-length album entitled “The Adversary.” In 2011 founding member and lead guitarist Gary Markowski departed from the band and Delander decided to switch from guitar to bass, making way for Andy Marsh and Tom Brown on guitar. After touring in Europe, the band went back into the studio to record “Hate” which they released on 18 October 2012. “Hate” debuted at number 35 on the Aria Charts and reached number 1 on AIR. After the release of the album, the band set out on tour and made a number of appearances at music festivals. In early 2014 the band made headlines when McMahon encouraged fans to get onstage during their set on Brisbane leg of theSoundwave Festival tour resulting in the band getting dropped from the tour. This however, did not stop their forward movement and they continued to travel and play their live gigs.

Lead vocalist Alex Koehler was formerly in a band called Ahazih, but once the band went through some lineup changes the members of the band started to call themselves Chelsea Grin. The band consists of six members, which allows them to accomplish musically intricate compositions. The band has three guitarists, permitting them to create a heavy rhythmic sound while the lead guitarist plays complicated riffs.

Not long after the band’s formation they released their self-titled EP in 2008, which was released on Statik Factory Records. The band would later sign to Artery Recordings and release their debut album “Desolation of Eden” in 2010. Their debut album was produced by Tim Lambesis from the band As I Lay Dying and did well on the charts reaching the No. 21 spot on the Top Heatseekers chart. The success of their album allowed the band to pursue a full US tour as well as garnered them praise in the “Alternative Press”.

In 2011 the band released their second studio album “My Damnation”, which showed Chelsea Grin stretching their creative abilities. The album focuses on lyrical themes pertaining to the afterlife and musically it featured more intricate guitar riffs and solos. The album also did well on the charts reaching the No. 6 spot on the US Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart.

The band released their third studio album “Ashes to Ashes” in 2014, which contained the singles “Letters”, “Angels Shall Sin, Demons Shall Pray”, and “Playing with Fire”. The album also did well on the charts reaching No. 27 on the US Billboard 200. Although the band mainly records original material, they released a cover of the song “Right Now” by Korn.

Chelsea Grin has taken influence from many bands such as Deftones, Slayer, Atreyu and Megadeth. Their songs cover a variety of metal sounds ranging from doom metal to symphonic metal, but whatever they end up producing is sure to be heavy. The band is constantly touring and have played many sold out concerts while touring with bands such as Emure, Born of Osiris, Parkway Drive, and Every Time I Die. They have also been known to play festivals such as Vans Warped Tour.