Chamber

Chamber from Nashville, TN

Hailed by Kerrang! as “a baptism of fire, one that will thrill, bruise and possibly disgust,” the debut album from CHAMBER, "Cost Of Sacrifice," was a lesson in blunt-force brutality. The Pure Noise Records LP elevated the Nashville-based metalcore quartet to new levels of the underground, earning them a stamp of approval from tastemakers like Revolver and BrooklynVegan as well as slots on tours with the likes of Wage War, Eighteen Visions, Counterparts and Kublai Khan.

On CHAMBER's follow up, "A Love To Kill For," the sophomore Pure Noise album from guitarist Gabe Manuel, vocalist Jacob Lilly, bassist Chris Smith and drummer Taylor Carpenter aim for a faster, louder, more chaotic and unpredictable sound than ever before. All these elements have been fundamental parts of Chamber’s ear-rattling sound since the group formed in the tight-knit Nashville scene in 2017, but they’ve never been so confident and soul-shaking as they are now.

Produced by longtime collaborator Randy LeBoeuf (The Acacia Strain, Gideon) over the course of a month in New Jersey, "A Love To Kill For" follows 2022’s surprise "Carved In Stone" EP and is, unsurprisingly, reflective of the time period in which the band created it – a fraught, turbulent moment in the history of the modern world with unprecedented trickle-down and turmoil, prolonged periods of disconnection and isolation that allowed for existential reflection and detours into destructive behavior.

These are heavy topics begetting heavier songs, swerving in techy, math-rock brilliance, rabid tempos and unrelenting antipathy that swirl into a genre-fluid rage. First single “Tremble” sets the musical mission statement for the record – blistering riffs that give way to tremorous breakdowns and grooves alike – while “Devoured” and “To Die In The Grip Of Poison” feature ear-shattering cameos from Kublai Khan’s Matt Honeycutt and Boundaries’ Matt McDougal, respectively, that could soundtrack the most devastating Mortal Kombat fatalities.

By the time things let up for a brief breath during the cinematic title track, it’s clear the band have hit another gear, raising the bar on what’s possible for dextrous metal and hardcore while leaving the future open wide for future evolutions of their musical brutality. That’s bad news for others looking to plant their flag in the heavy music landscape, but a win for those lucky enough to experience Chamber’s harrowing live show.