The Red Chord, Fed Through the Teeth Machine

I played the fuck out of The Red Chord‘s spaz grind debut Fused Together in Revolving Doors when it first came out. I loved it’s sheer insanity and intensity. The band’s sophomore release saw nearly as much replay, but it wasn’t quite the same. Then cam 2007’s Prey for Eyes, an album which I gladly purchased, but could never really get into.

I’m not sure what spurred the band to the levels of reivigorated destruction that their latest effort, Fed Through the Teeth Machine, displays in spades, but the band needs to tap into that source like a junkie sifting through dead soldiers in a back alley. Teeth Machine makes Prey look like the definite weak link in the band’s short yet highly scrutinized discography. There just seems to be so much more emphasis, creativity and enthusiam on show with this latest release.

The grinding blasts are more raw, more sinister and full of power, while the jazzy noodling (when used) is balanced beautifully with the band’s natural ferocity. Vocally, Guy Kozowyk is on top of his game, dishing out menacing barks, growls and more throaty belches. Musically, the band seems much tighter in their frenzied attack. The guitars are thick and punishing yet at times mischievious and jazzy. The rhythm section delivers the thunder with precision while keeping you on your toes throughout the album.

Demoralizer
“Demoralizer” certainly seems to serve as such to other bands in The Red Chord “genre.” Opening with distant guitars that fade into an eruption of blasting drums, squeals and Kozowyk’s bruly delivery the song serves notice to all who hear it that the band is back and back with a vengeance. While not as spastic as the stuff I loved on their debut, so far the music on Teeth Machine is exactly what has been missing from their last two albums — bruising rhythms, haunting guitars and ferocity.

Hour of Rats
Holy sweet fucking shit. “Hour of Rats” explodes out of the gate without so much as a blink from the end of the album opener with blasting drums and a huge scream. This song is a brass knuckled left hook to the temple. There’s plenty of jazzy noodling and soaring leads amongst the animalistic bludgeoning the band is handing out with this song.

Hymns and Crippled Anthems
There’s barely a moment’s breath before the album’s third track gets under way with a little reverb. There’s some really nicely structured shifts in this song, highlighted with technical guitars and slick layering. Be prepared for some fierce noodling and plenty of experimental guitar noise throughout this song. It only adds to the churning chaos.

Embarrassment Legacy
The transition into “Embarrassment Legacy” is nearly seamless, as the band chug along smoothly with a mid-tempo opening. The pace picks up a bit about 20 seconds in with a decent driving clip. There are several tempo shifts in just the first minute and a half, yet the momentum of the song continues along smoothly and without pause. I’m digging the animalistic pummeling the drums take after the short lead before the two minute mark.

Tales of Martyrs and Disappearing Acts
Finally, there was more than half a second of dead air between songs… And you’ll need to too. This next one is an up-tempo monster with chugging riffage and machine gunning drums. The guitars around 1:10 are pretty sweet as the introduce a series of large growls from Kozowyk. The end of the song builds into a frenzy before disappearing into the next song.

Floating Through the Vein
“Floating Through the Vein” has an intensified feel around the overall delivery of the music. Everything seems to have a little more punch than the last song. Perhaps it’s the many manic blasts that punctuate the flow of the song. At any rate, I’m digging it. The end to this song has a very disturbing feel to it as the music degrades slowly to a close.

Ingest the Ash
Now this is what I’m talking about! Sheer destruction right from the first second that’s reminiscent of the stuff they did on their debut. The melodic and rock vibes added to the guitars here and there make for a great contrast to the moshing riffs they throw at you throughout the song.

One Robot to Another
The band keeps the bludgeoning constant with this next one that also sees some slick progressive guitar elements thrown into the mix. This is a pretty bruising track that has some highly contagious portions that will have you shouting along with the band in no time.

Mouthful of Precious Stones
Massive riffs and a brief growl get this next one off to a chugging start. The overall slower pace to this one is a nice change and makes for a darker sounding song that really explodes when those quicker moments arise. The 1:44 mark is a crushing mass of guttural vocals and riffing. The latter half of the song is more dramatic and has more melodic touches as does the lead that comes in at 3:30. This is definitely a new realm for the band that really shows what they are capable of.

The Ugliest Truth
Man, after the slower fading end to the last song, “The Ugliest Truth” is a menacing, drooling beast of a track. It’s up-tempo pace along with nicely timed guitar squeals makes for a creative song. There’s a good ebb and flow to this song as the pace shifts along with blasting drums and Kozowyk’s delivery. Nice!

Face Area Solution
Using the feedback from the end of the previous song, this next one is starts off with frenetic drumming, slick guitar noodling and a vicious layered vocal delivery. This is the shortest song on the album and packs a wallop in its two minute length.

Sleepless Nights in the Compound
“Sleepless Nights in the Compound” wraps up the band’s return to form with an off-kilter, time battering attack from everyone in the band. The drumming is all over the place (in a good way) and the guitars shift from moshing riffs to technical flourishes like it’s nothing. The track gets real creative at 2:20 with moody guitars and plenty of atmosphere. The track ends tremendously with great guitar, layered vocals and steady drum work. Well done!

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