EP REVIEW: Carved In Stone – Chamber

Nashville’s CHAMBER gave the metalcore world a welcome little surprise when they released Carved In Stone last week. A brief yet relatively swift follow-up to their excellent debut full-length – 2020’s Cost Of Sacrifice – it picks up largely from where that record left off, with its feet firmly planted in the visceral chaoticism of metalcore’s heyday while also reaping the benefits of the more modern crush afforded to the genre in 2022. It may be a bit of a tried and tested formula at this point, but there’s no denying that CHAMBER remain one of the better exports from this whole ‘revivalcore’ scene.

With just three tracks clocking in at ten minutes, there’s no time to waste on Carved In Stone. Opener Cellophane Form gets things off to a squealing feedback-laden start before swiftly launching into the first of many expected hard-hitting breakdowns. It’s a thoroughly throat-grabbing affair, albeit not an entirely ground-breaking one. Feral vocals, chugging riffs, dissonant panic chords – CHAMBER know what to do with the tools they’re given, moving from section to section with considerable urgency while still giving their ideas just enough time to leave their mark.

Torn From Perfection and the title track both mine similar ground, but there really isn’t much cause to complain as the execution remains invariably high. The former definitely captures more of a sense of menace, with a moody bass-led stomp and eerie atmospheric leads providing just a hint of dynamic variation amid the song’s high-aggro violence. The latter rounds out the record with similar ferocity, again with a brief ominous break and a few more distant leads only sharpening the band’s chug-laden attack. 

To be honest, there’s not loads else to report here really. Recorded in just two weeks with the help of one of hardcore’s go-to producers in Randy LeBoeuf, Carved In Stone is an urgent and furious little record that sounds great and does pretty much everything you could ask it to. It may be more of a stop-gap release than anything else, and perhaps it’s a slight shame it isn’t just a touch longer, but to tie us over as we wait for the band’s second full-length these ten minutes provide a welcome extension to an ever more exciting discography. Bring on LP2.

Rating: 8/10

Carved In Stone is out now via Pure Noise Records.

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