Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Album Number 4 for the L.A outfit, lets sink our teeth into this (pun intended) and see what we have here!
Track 1 – Xenogenesis
Droning intro to start this one off and then into a hypnotic verse section with a crisp drum pattern running along with the industrial synth parts, it only breaks when we get into the chorus where you get the distorted vocals coming in and a bit more aggression, not a lot to write home about on this one, as its two verses and two choruses exactly the same before the song filters out, short track for the album opener
Track 2 – Acme Death Machine
Spoken intro with atmospheric noises, then we get a proper djent style riff kicking with this, very Chelsea Grin style with all the squeals, nice build up as well with the verse starting vocal and drums before the riff hammers home, like the chorus with the synth part although its maybe overshadowing the vocal part a bit, really loving the aggression on this one, little breakdown part before we get a bit of double bass coming in with the riff on the middle section, then back into that catchy chorus before the song closes out
Track 3 – Slum Planet
Really driving riff starting this one before we hit an industrial verse part with that electronic sounding drum part, slamming chorus part with a great riff and shouted vocal part, then a synth break and back into the verse and into the chorus again, a sort of filtered middle section comes in for a few bars and then we are out again into the big chorus part and we are out of this song
Track 4 – What’s Left
An almost dub/hip hop beat over this one, which is a bit more devoid of guitars in the first verse and intro to the song, almost like Pendulum in vibe musically, nice build up synth part coming into the chorus where we get a bit of guitar hitting in again, before the break and into the second verse where we have a bit of variation with the guitars coming in as well, back into the break build into the chorus again, nice breakdown section in the middle comes in which keeps the degree of heaviness that some of the other breaks haven’t had, then we come out into the chorus to the end of the song
Track 5 – Merchant of the Void
Deep synth bass intro to this one, in fact the verse is essentially all synth with a driving electronic bass line, good chorus with the sliding guitar riff coming in for it and then some drums as well, but we are straight out into the synth verse again, I like that heavy riff in the middle that is interspersed with bass drops then we are out into the chorus again
Track 6 – Higher Than Death
Bit of heft with the opening riff on this one, nice slamming djent style riff and it’s good to hear the proper drums and not so much on the electronic drum parts, but as soon as it’s there its gone straight into electronica, now it’s a good verse but when that chorus slams in which is excellent by the way, the vocals and guitars are fantastic and the it exits to that heavy intro riff but it just loses the weight as it slips back to the electronic for verse two and it just loses the heaviness for me, the chorus then middle and chorus to finish the track off are crushing but this one could have done without the verses being devoid of the guitars because there is a killer track in here!
Track 7 – Ali3n
So, for whatever reason this straight away gave me Deftones first albums vibes with that riff and the vocal performance, I really like the use of the distorted and the clean vocals, it gives it variety, I love that middle half time feel section with the riff and then like a little hook coming in as well, definitely a section for the pit right there, good track different than some of the others and I really likes this one!
Track 8 – Plutonomicon
It’s all slowed down and it’s really electronic on this with a pulsing synth bass carrying the verse and the spoken vocals, before the guitars and the aggressive vocals come in for the chorus before its back to synth verse, it’s very much the formula they have done for every other song and in that lies the problem so far with the album, it’s the same in nearly every song, I’m not sure that extended middle section did much for this track bar lose the momentum it had
Track 9 – Paralyze
Back to the synths for the verse, soft spoken vocal part underneath it, yet when you hit that chorus its class, sliding heavy riff and a great vocal part it really hits hard but then straight away we lose the momentum into a rap verse which changes feel but ultimately kills the song a bit before we get into a heavier part with a rap vocal that actually makes sense and keeps the heaviness before hitting the chorus again, then a good 30 seconds of synth that loses the feel before picking up for the out of the song
Track 10 – Scorpion
Really slow grinding verse on this with an interesting synth line that has a bit of melody to it before the heavier syncopated guitar part comes in with the distorted vocals before we hit a nice vocal melody before we get to verse two, love the female vocal part, gives it a great dynamic, ultimately we have the same as the other tracks in formula and by track 10 its just getting very much the same every track
Track 11 – Drift
The 80s are back in the verse of this one, very new wave, and it’s really nice with the clean vocals from the start and not just a spoken vocal, because the melody is there the synth backing really makes sense, when it lifts and adds guitars as well they are not taking over but they are adding to the synth backing to this one, when the vocals come up in aggression it really works, everything is building up with this track, best track on the album by far, everything works on this track!
Track 12 – Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Well, it’s an interesting take on a classic song, risky to take a song like this and to try and make it a darker track than what it was and to add a more modern style to it, it’s not the worst, would I rather listen to the original, absolutely.
6 out of 10
There are some great ideas in here for sure, but the formula kills some of the tracks that could have just stayed heavy, keep the synth back a bit and bring the guitars in and there are some crushing numbers on here, as far as the industrial tracks, Drift is absolutely class , there are great parts but not everything is cohesive, if your into your Industrial then absolutely give it a listen, it’s a good album but it could be so much stronger with a few tweaks!
3TEETH is:
Alexis Mincolla – vocals
Chase Brawner – guitars
Xavier Swafford – keyboards and synthesizer
Andrew Means – bass
Nick Rossi – drums
EndEx Available HERE
