Review: TEETH – A Biblical Worship of Violence
You should probably visit the dentist if your teeth make these noises.
In recent years it feels like there’s been a massive influx of independent metalcore and deathcore groups. I’m not entirely sure where they keep coming from but what I can say is this: at this point it’s not particularly easy to impress me. I had heard about this upcoming EP from the band TEETH on social media, and at first, I wasn’t particularly interested; I figured it would just be another semi-decent metalcore EP that sounded like 10 other metalcore EPs…
I was wrong, and I’m glad I was wrong.
A Biblical Worship of Violence may not be a long record at 15 minutes, but they use that time very efficiently. Diving into the track list, “We Eat Our Young” immediately slams the listener with a wall of noise filled with blast beats, wild guitar work, and tortured, screamed vocals. This doesn’t slow down at all going into “Hate Me” which ends with an insane breakdown which is closer in energy to deathcore than anything else. The energy level in this thing is just nuts, I was expecting another pop record with bits of metal dispersed throughout but that is not what I got. This is much more in line with something from Converge or early Trivium than something from Sleep Token or Bad Omens. Stylistically it actually reminds me a lot of Every Time I Die, which is a good thing in my opinion. I’ve been really happy to see the return of metalcore that emphasizes the core.
Possibly my favorite thing about this EP is the production, especially for the guitar. TEETH has managed to create one of the most monstrous guitar tones I’ve ever heard on a record; this is particularly prevalent during the breakdowns of which there are many. Overall the production is very tight and claustrophobic, which lends itself nicely to the very hardcore vibe of the EP. Along with the production, the performances are also top tier, it’s abundantly obvious that this band is a very talented group of musicians. The guitar work is absolutely crushing, the drums are insane, and the vocals are incredibly abrasive and do a great job of portraying the manic vibe of the project as a whole. Just about my only complaint is that the bass isn’t very prominent in the mix, which is fairly common with this style of music anyway.
This EP gives the listener all of the sauce, and in the words of Gucci Mane: “If a man does not have sauce, then he is lost. But the same man can get lost in the sauce.” Let me tell you, I got lost in the sauce. This record demands all of the listener’s attention, it has insane energy and is highly abrasive for the entire duration. I really enjoyed this EP, and it’s bound to live in my playlist for quite some time.
A Biblical Worship of Violence is out today via Nuclear Blast Records.
