Tetrarch – Unstable
Release Date: 30th April 2021
Label: Napalm Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Nu-Metal, Progressive Metal.
FFO: Korn, Orbit Culture, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Linkin Park, Dope, P.O.D, Darknet, Afterlife.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
Unstable is evidence of something unsettling. Some dark magic perhaps, a deal with the devil? However it was done, nu-metal has risen from the dead. LA’s Tetrarch are releasing their second album (first under new label Napalm Records) Unstable, filled to the brim with nostalgia. A few surprises wait in store to show the sounds and styles that evolved from nu-metal in an energetic, impressive record with your run-of-the-mill teen angst lyricism.
Opener I’m Not Right showcases some dirty bass tones and pissed off guitars. KoRn sounding vocal hooks and creepy synth melodies make it a strong beginning to Unstable, and clearly sets up the sound you can expect throughout.
Negative Noise is a great example of how this band has earned over 329,000 (at the time of writing) monthly listeners on Spotify. It’s a fast-paced, aggressive blend between Slipknot-esque riffs and contemporary metalcore double bass. Tetrarch’s Ruben Limas is an absolute monster behind the kit and Negative Noise is where he really gets to cut loose. Vocalist Josh Fore goes apeshit with deep growls and powerful screams. You Never Listen uses tropes that made Linkin Park so successful, without sounding like an exact copy. Their angst feels familiar but the production values give it a sound that feels like it belongs in this era of modern metal.
Take a Look Inside is an absolute mindfuck. It feels like a totally new band snuck a track in the middle. With progressive, Gojira inspired guitar lines (yes, expect pick scrapes) and Duplantier-like screams before an emotionally weighted chorus, it’s a true hidden gem of the album. The breakdown is stank-face inducing. The tightness between the guitar, bass & drums during the end really helps focus the attack and deliver a truly heavy outro. It’s an absolutely unmissable track bound to raise the reluctantly approving eyebrows of metal elitists who snub nu-metal.
Addicted strips the 2000’s influence away to align a lot more with the recent ilk of nu-metal inspired metalcore such as Wage War and I Prevail. The brooding bridge draws back the energy before unleashing on the final chorus adding more power to the delivery.
Pushed Down melodically takes a more positive turn with some mild gang vocal effects during the chorus giving the first track with a sense of anything other than negativity. It packs in a lot of interesting elements like a bouncy solo and ethereal bridge which all land without feeling rushed or over-saturated. A short but sweet effort leads into the final track Trust Me. It slowly builds from a thinly layered, almost acapella intro into a brooding and huge-sounding anthem to close the album.
As you can likely expect, lyrics aren’t really the most original or ground-breaking; it’s a standard fare of angst, isolation & rejection. “I’m breaking apart, barely holding it together, need someone to stitch me up” is cried during the chorus of Stitch Me Up. This encapsulates the theme of Unstable as the album name indicates. The ambience and dark melodies throughout give a sense of unease and instability which works to its advantage and helps with cohesion. Production generally is one of the elements that truly makes this album shine. The drum sounds are killer and snappy, with both guitar and bass being incredibly polished. This doesn’t always work in a genre where messy and nasty generally equals good; thankfully, the compositions and melodic choices by guitarist Diamond Rowe are interesting enough for tight production to elevate Unstable rather than hinder it.
There are moments that feel repetitive (The main riff of I’m Not Right and Sick of You feel like alternative takes of each other for example) but there’s enough variation and magic in Unstable that it never gets boring. The progressive undertones of Take A Look Inside and the powerhouse Meteora vibes of Pushed Down are two highlights of many. There is a lot to love in Unstable. It positions itself in that sweet spot between nu-metal nostalgia and modern metalcore and has proven itself relevant.
(4 / 5)
