I’m not terribly well-versed in industrial metal, but I get the basics of it. Bands like Ministry, Fear Factory, and especially the early Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson albums are what I’ve been versed in over the years, so there’s some understanding there. Typically I’m not excited by the genre, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t putting this review off. Industrial is just a hit-or-miss thing, and there’s nothing I can really do about that because I love riffs and blast beats. Damned if I do, though, I will admit: 3Teeth are an enigma in this philosophy of mine. You might’ve heard about them, and they’re surely picking up steam in the past few months, and if all according to plan there’s no doubt Metawar is going to be their Master of Puppets. You’ve been warned.

I don’t know what it is, man. Metawar just has great songwriting and doesn’t necessarily do anything “new.” There’s no innovation on the genre or anything to change the game up. This isn’t like a complete reinvention of the genre, but it’s so damn engaging and it’s like 3Teeth are doing their Orwellian impression of

Big Brother by entrancing you in the new world order they’re ushering on. Metawar has hooks, it has interesting developments in the rhythm and dynamics, and tracks never feel bloated or under cooked. Once this album starts, it doesn’t let up, and by the end you know you’ve encountered something unique and special.

3Teeth are unique in that they refuse to yield one singular idea. Granted we’re not talking about prog odysseys here, but the flux of dynamics on tracks like “Surrender” that change it up by big, open spaces and slow, methodical, heavy riffs is entrancing. Vocalist Alexis Mincolla slips between Marilyn Manson-isms and a watery chorus effect throughout, and lyrically he’s channeling a more collected, less rampant Al Jourgensen. His lyrics are poetic and touch on your usual political topics, but it’s his delivery that sells it. You can draw comparisons, but Mincolla is definitely something all his own.

I think with industrial that production is so easily destroyed and ruins a lot of the musical output. Being inherently digital, it’s easy to lose a lot of the texture and energy in the mix for that droning, mechanical effect. Fortunately the production here is near perfect. I think it’s a little too compressed for its own good, but this is one of those “PLAY IT LOUD” kind of albums, through and through. And you’ll want to do that, too, for songs with massive hype to them (“Affluenza”) or the big choruses. (“Bornless”) Every instrumentalist and everyone on the production side are working in complete unison. 3Teeth have given Metawar a unified vision; this is what happens when everyone in the band is on the same page.

Aside from tiny things (Maybe shave one track off? The album gets long towards the end) I was pleasantly surprised by Metawar. 3Teeth aren’t just hype because they’re able to prove it and produce something that a skeptic like myself can enjoy. This one’s a good one, folks. Real good. I’m pleasantly and happily surprised by this.

Metawar comes out July 5th on Century Media. You can stream the video for “President X” below.