3TEETH | Metawar | Album Review

Missing some of that industrial metal magic brought forth in the 1990's and not executed as well by other bands? 3Teeth is the band attempting to bring that style back in a recharged sense, and the best part is that they're a new face in heavy music. In what has mostly become a genre content with familarity and similar sounding bands, in comes a band like 3Teeth who not only sticks out well but is also trying to revive something that was previously popular. 2019 brings us the band's third studio album, "Metawar" which is a continuation of the themes behind the band's previous two albums. The face of the band, Alexis Mincolla, stated about the album, "If our debut album was focused on man vs the world, and our sophomore album was man vs himself, then I really wanted "Metawar" to focus on the idea of world vs world, and the notion that if man doesn't create his own world then he's often crushed by the world of another." He also added, "Thematically it's centered largely around the concepts of acceleration and the political heresy of inviting the end as an opportunity as a fresh start". These quotes prove that 3Teeth isn't a band willing to produce cookie-cutter music with each studio album release, and have a wider ambition for where there music will go as well as the ideas backing them up. 

The album begins with an explosion of industrial-twinged music and electronic effects with the intro "Hyperstition", followed by three massive tracks, "Affluenza", "Exxxit", and "American Landfill". This three song sequence also acts as the first music put out from the album before its release. In my opinion, this is the strongest section of the album and kicks the door down in an aggressive and well calculated fashion. "American Landfill" was the first of these three tracks to be released, and while carrying all of the themes Mincolla explained about the album before its release, is also the embodiment of the style and the tone present throughout the entire album. This is not an album that slows down or stops the brakes even though there are sections in the music that get less loud, and that is a compliment. "American Landfill" combines heavy riffs with electronic music elements to make something cinematic and big, and is the best song on this album. "Exxxit" and "Affluenza" come before and are slightly less abrasive in tone, but manage to be just as effective. Alexis Mincolla's vocal delivery is reminiscent of Marilyn Manson and Jay Gordon while certainly not scared to be varied by adding some aggressive shouts and even growls in select tracks. The hooks and writing in these tracks are a standout as well as the musicality, especially in the song "Exxxit" with the chorus. 

Honestly, "Metawar" doesn't gain as much of the momentum that it started out with in the case of those three cuts and the intro, but still manages to get some very powerful material when it can. Like I stated earlier, the aggressive tone does not go missing throughout this album's 47-minute runtime, but there are moments in the album that land much more successfully and on point than others. For example, tracks like "Surrender" and "Blackout" pull off the industrial metal style much better than tracks like "Altaer" and even "Time Slave" and "The Fall", but looking at this as an entire project it flows well with what it is trying to accomplish. "Surrender" and "Blackout" are similar to "Away From Me" off of their last release "Shutdown.exe" which is the song that introduced me to 3Teeth in the first place, and that's even though there are more heavy guitar inclusions in these songs and build up to a higher peak than that song. "President X" feels like a dark 80's new-wave track in a heavier sense even though the first 30 seconds with the cheering crowd could have been left out. "Bornless" has a well-delivered hook even though it isn't among one of the stronger cuts on the album. There is definitely material on "Metawar" to get industrial fans excited for the future of the genre and what can come from it. 

As I said previously in this review, there are weaker tracks. "Altaer" feels like a unfinished cut that could have been left off of the album. "The Fall" gets a bit overwhelming with Alexis Mincolla's growling at the end and does not have as much appeal as any of the tracks that preceded it. The album closer, a cover of Foster The People's hit "Pumped Up Kicks" certainly sounds good and isn't too far from this band's ballpark considering the track's morbid themes, but falls in line with "The Fall" in it getting all too overwhelming in its final chorus. Getting that out the way, there is nothing that is TRULY overwhelming and off-putting about any of these songs and there is nothing bad about "Metawar" as a whole. The album is definitely an expansion of the style heard on 3Teeth's previous albums and succeeds at what it's doing. "Metawar" isn't an album that's going to be for everybody, though. But for those accustomed to what has come from the genre, this is an album not to be missed. Overall, 3Teeth's third studio album will satisfy fans of Fear Factory and Ministry and will give newcomers something to instantly gravitate towards, as they are the forerunners of a revival of music seemingly lost within the synapses of time. 

RATING: 7/10 

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