3TEETH - Metawar

One of our favorite industrial projects of the past decade is back with a brand new album titled "Metawar". As always, a heavy dose of anti-government statements and critically challenging songs meant to make your mind bend, break, and think independently are wrapped into one neat little package. 3TEETH's colorful aesthetic and otherwise notable imagery is still stellar. In fact, I'd argue they're one of the few bands out there who have a natural knack for keeping a solid theme and tone throughout their career. Just taking one watch of the music video for 'President X' - or perhaps any of their other videos from "Metawar" - would prove that.


There has been an evolution with 3TEETH throughout their career. Starting with their debut, self-titled album the band was in bed with the sound of industrial. That being said they were always in flirtation with metal as crunchy guitars poked their gloriously grimy strings through the surface of the album. This relationship was brought out into the open on "" wherein 3TEETH went full on industrial metal with some of their strongest and heaviest songs to date making their debut. "Metawar", however, sounds out of place (in a good way) in time as if it was meant to be released in what some consider to be the heyday of industrial metal and industrial rock - the 90s. "Metawar" sounds as if it belongs alongside the likes of Zombie's "Hellbilly Deluxe", Nine Inch Nail's now legendary album "The Downward Spiral" and even Marilyn Manson's "Antichrist Superstar"; in fact, 3TEETH would be able to tour with any of these names in the music industry and attract a brand new cult of followers. 

I'll start with the cons at first. I've heard this and seen this discussed among other industrial enthusiasts, but fans of heavy synths will not find much to grin about on this album. While the synths are present on the album - notable uses of it are seen in the mechanized structure of 'EXXXIT' - this is primarily a filthy album with amazing guitar riffs. If you're used to 3TEETH's half-and-half mixture of electronics meeting instruments and you're looking for that clear cut and primarily industrial sound, you'll be out of luck. 

However - and onto the pros - this does not make the album bad in any sense of the word. "Metawar" is filled to the brim with potent songs and starts off in one of my favorite fashions. 'Hyperstition' serves as a small and cinematic intro until we're thrust into the thick and heavy smog of 'Affluenza' - perhaps the finest effort on the album to mix industrial rock with an almost rave like sound. I'd say that the beginning of the album is perhaps the best. The first five tracks on the album is a block of glorious 3TEETH goodness that was not bested by anything else presented on the album. 

Of course there are other hidden goodies on the album as well including a new version of 'Sell Your Face 2.0'. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a rework of the original song that was uploaded to YouTube back in March of 2015 or a single in its own right. In either case, I do prefer the original over this version; again, it is the heaviness that I craved from the original that this new version seemed to lack. But, to each their own; I'm just glad the song got some love and is finally available in some form on a disc. Oh, also, there's a cover of 'Pumped Up Kicks' on the album; I was never a fan of the original version but I can appreciate 3TEETH's cover a bit more. I suppose the contrast between an innocent sounding beat and soft vocals and extremely dark lyrics that made Foster the People's original mix so popular is lost in 3TEETH's darker tone. But that is also to be expected.

3TEETH's "Metawar" is not my favorite album from the group but it is nonetheless a fantastic album. As always the production values are top notch, the music exquisite, and I'll be finding most of these songs on my playlist in the near future. "Metawar" is currently available for purchase via Century Media Records and should find a lovely spot on your shelves. 
Jul 13 2019