EP Review: A Fate Worse Than Loneliness by Showing Teeth
EP artwork for A Fate Worse Than Loneliness by Showing Teeth
Modern metalcore has followed the same mantra for the past two decades following its Warped Tourification of continuing to produce the same thing over and over again with the intention of no one noticing. A community with Stockholm Syndrome that applauds ‘innovation’ when they hear the same thing released for the 100th time by American Apparel-clad men with their aesthetic first, substance second approach, it’s uplifting and somewhat panic-inducing when something drops that challenges the norm. “A Fate Worse Than Loneliness” is Showing Teeth’s attempt to reinvigorate a stagnant genre.
6 tracks and an interlude. Showing Teeth kick off their first full-release with Bad Exchanges, 1 of 3 singles dropped in the run-up to “A Fate Worse Than Loneliness” landing in the hands of the metalcore masses. An aggressive, sludgy slow-burner of immensely polished production value rife with drops and vocal hooks, we’re immediately met with lyrics riddled with anguish and disenchantment, “Oh god, it’s all fucking bleak” for flavour crawling upwards through the mix. Bad Exchanges is a playground for djent enjoyers and people that shake their fists (pinky and thumb extended) back and forth to the sound of blast-beats. A paradise for stank face reaction youtubers.
Labyrinth. The track that brought us here in the first place. A track composed of hyper-focused vocal hooks that repeat and make themselves at home in your brain. The first bout of clean singing on the EP arrives as a minimalist version of the chorus that we experience fuller in the latter half of the track acts as a moment of respite before launching back into the twangy syncopated rhythms. It’s understandable upon reflection why Labyrinth caught on and got people interested as to where this band could go.
Going forward, screams and gutturals are benched for the most part in Make It Out and Shallow Grave as cleans take on a more prominent role and despite their cookie cutter structures, level of predictability with allocated guitar solos and buildups to the inevitable signature “blegh”, they’re crowd pleasers. No reinvention of the modern metalcore/faux djent wheel has taken place but there doesn’t need to be, as this EP is a statement that Showing Teeth are more than just a one trick pony/internet personality in a pair of denims and khaki boots.
The last track of the EP, Paradigm, introduced via the most grounding and motherly of voicemails in the form of an interlude is like if you crossed Bullet For My Valentine’s Hearts Burst Into Fire with Miley Cyrus’ The Climb. Its gradual build up and melodic storytelling showcases the mandatory softer side bands show in this genre where breakdowns are absent and screams return towards the end replacing the one more chorus but an octave higher practice. It’s a sampler of what the band are capable of and what we could expect of them in the future. You could argue that the clear-cut between heavy tracks and clean tracks messes with the cohesion and flow of the EP, but as a first release you want to be able to show what you’re made of and they’ve done just that.
Meticulously crafted for a demographic that would sooner assume you were referring to a metal band’s ethnicity when mentioning the high end of Addison’s range mirroring that of black metal vocalists, Showing Teeth present a tried and tested format of clinical modern metalcore with a twist that’ll resonate with new listeners, long term fans of the genre and heads that unironically use the term “female-fronted”.
Swapping a car-shaped vocal booth for festival stages was once unthinkable and would result in widespread ridicule for those who pursue it, the social media climb is brutal and self-deprecating but Showing Teeth have produced something that vindicates their efforts and saves them from becoming a Catatonic Youths post that’ll surface every couple months to haunt them forever.
FFO: Structures, Veil of Maya, Spiritbox, Periphery
SCORE: 7/10
A Fate Worse Than Loneliness is out on all streaming platforms on Friday 4th September, released via Republic Records and Spinefarm.
