3TEETH has gradually grown into this Industrial behemoth. They were heralded as the second coming and championed by Tool AND actually lived up to the hype for a while but, if I’m being honest, their last album did not impress as a whole. METAWAR looks to course correct with this super lean, super killer slab of Industrial NOISE that’s easily the frontrunner for album of the year within that genre. And beyond.
Encapsulating all of what makes them best, METAWAR combines the METALlic bombast of <shutdown.exe> with the subtle intensity and quirky intricacies of 3TEETH. “AFFLUENZA” is the new “Megalomaniac”, the new “Rio Grande Blood”, the new “Sehnsucht”….hell, it’s the new “Wish” in terms of brutal yet anthemic opening salvos. With these guitar tones that flow into one another to become a waterfall of riffs amidst a slew of synthetic sounds, Justin Hanson’s inspired bashing and Alexis Mincolla at the forefront leading the charge, the track is a vicious statement of intent.
“EXXXIT” captures the 3TEETH sound perfectly with an unbridled stomp. It’s like everything from the self-titled turned up to 11 focusing on more complex song structures while “AMERICAN LANDFILL” is modern Industrial at its’ very best: Loud and brutal! Chase Brawner’s guitars sound absolutely inhuman, like they were created by Skynet even.
“PRESIDENT X” grooves in the way Pretty Hate Machine used to albeit with a heavier crunch with Andrew Means and Xavier Swafford providing the low end and synthetic air respectively. “ALTÆR” is the first time the album slows down and even this moody beast is something to behold at loud volumes while “TIME SLAVE” continues with the atmosphere building as Swafford’s electronics bring a sense of wonder before Crawler’s guitar tones drop and Mincolla’s scream bring everything crashing back to reality.
Then there’s “BORNLESS” which treads new territory for the band and is the turning point of METAWAR in terms of tone, adding more depth even when being relentlessly vicious.
“SURRENDER” continues with the huge choruses, huge everything and an even more immense Electroscape of Swafford’s synths for some spooky feels surrounding the dread. “BLACKOUT” is a different kind of monster, concentrating on strong melodies and sounding unlike anything they’ve done thus far before going for broke when it lets loose in the especially loud chorus. Then “THE FALL” falls next and it’s the PERFECT penultimate dirge, focusing on a different kind of heavy, and a proper closer to this epically diverse opus before the band take a left turn and end with a cover of Foster The People’s most popular earworm, “Pumped Up Kicks”, transmorgified into an Industrial/New Wave banger…and we don’t know how to feel. Because it’s good. And actually a fitting coda to this brilliant album.
METAWAR is out through Century Media Records on July 5th. You can pre-order yours right now by clicking here or here. The band will be hitting the road this summer on a headlining run after returning from Europe opening for Ministry. They hit Brighton Music Hall on July 31st. For tickets for that and the rest of the tour, follow the band here and here.