Tetrarch-Unstable (2021)

 Post #394

In 2021, Tetrarch released Unstable, their follow-up to 2017's Freak, and on this release the band show much consistency and growth as they tighten their grip on their trademark sound. They also continue to impress with their music videos, of which they now have for 4 different tracks from Unstable.

Unstable opens with "I'm Not Right", a blisteringly heavy number that picks up right where Freak left off without missing a beat! This is also one of the 4 official music videos I mentioned. I will link to a couple of those at the end of this post.

While Tetrarch are great at writing those fast-paced shred-fest hardcore songs, they also deliver quite a few songs with a more moderate tempo on this album. "You Never Listen" is one of those songs. It's still quite heavy, don't get me wrong, but they can switch up their delivery as good as any band out there.

One of my favorite elements of heavy metal music has always been guitar solos. While most of the time you can hear Diamond Rowe's lead guitar reverberating in the background throughout most of their songs- again channeling an eerie mood-setting vibe in a style similar to Korn, there are several songs here where she shows off her chops with some shredding guitar solos. Check out the tracks "Sick of You", "Addicted", or "Pushed Down" for some of her best soloing techniques. If I'd compare her style to a well-known guitarist, I'd pick a late-era Dimebag Darrell. Keep on shredding Diamond!

Not to leave behind another element of metalcore, blast-beat drumming, you should really hear the song "Take a Look Inside". Staccato power chords mirror the driving beat of the bass drums and bass guitar in this song. Their drummer, Ruban Limas' technical skills cannot be questioned after hearing this one! If I have any song to compare this one to, it might be "Primal Concrete Sledge" by Pantera. I love the powerful, relentless groove it gives!

Lastly I'll mention the closing number, "Trust Me", which is a bit of a departure from the rest of the tracks, in that is slows the tempo way down, and projects dark and ominous moods. This gothic alt-metal brilliance in its own right, and the drummer drives the rhythm mainly with loud cymbal crashes throughout, almost like Black Sabbath's "War Pigs", but slower and heavier.

Recommended tracks from Unstable:

-I'm Not Right

-You Never Listen

-Sick of You

-Stitch Me Up

-Pushed Down (this one has a chorus that just begs to become an anthem: "We are the psychos, the untouchables!")

Now for those promised music videos, but first, you should be sure you check out Tetrarch's Youtube channel and subscribe so you don't miss out on their next awesome video!

Here are their videos for "I'm Not Right" and "Stitch Me Up"

Tetrarch-Freak (2017)

 Post #393

Tetrarch spent their time from 2013 to 2017 relocating (they moved from Georgia to L.A.) and also reinventing themselves. Their early EPs might have fallen comfortably inside the 'metalcore' subgenre, but by the time they dropped Freak it was clear they'd discovered a new calling and were headed in a  new direction...

The album opens with the title track, "Freak"- an aggressive hardcore song that puts some of their new formula on display. Diamond Rowe's guitar leads emulate an eerie vibe that seems to channel Korn's Brian 'Head' Welch. Vocalist Josh Fore pours forth emotion with ever line. His voice could be compared to Chester Bennington when singing melodically,  or Corey Taylor when screaming. If this sounds like a promising formula of sounds for a metal-head, that's because it is! Plus you have to love the bridge lyric: "In the darkness the strange becomes ordinary..."

The next track, "Spit", takes them a step closer to Korn-esque alt-metal, as Fore employs new inflections in his vocal delivery, bringing comparisons to Jonathan Davis to mind. However, as the 3rd track, "Pull the Trigger" unfurls, we are once again blown away with an assault of aggressive metal. 

The rest of the album continues in this fashion, swaying back and forth between hardcore, brutal metal riffs, and eerie, haunting melodies. Drums and bass that bludgeon the senses relentlessly, guitars that can shred in one moment and entice the mind the next, and a masterful blend of melodic and hardcore vocals, this band gives us a great metal album with Freak. If you crave this blending of angst and aggression, then please do yourself the favor of checking out this band!

Their Music video for the title track:

Other recommended tracks from Freak:

-Pull the Trigger

-Oddity

-Break the Trend* (this is a personal favorite- very close in style to their previous metalcore/thrash sound)

-Torn Apart (a little softer sound on this closing track, but still very dark in the pictures painted both in sound and lyrics)

Watch for my review of their new album Unstable coming soon!