In case you missed the memo, nu metal has undergone a major resurgence in recent years. Be it Limp Bizkit going viral for Fred Durst’s wigs, Adidas dropping a Korn collab or Linkin Park’s mega comeback, you can barely swipe up on ‘metal-Tok’ without stumbling across some reference to the mainstream-crushing glory days of the early 2000s.
It’s not just the old dogs flexing new tricks, either. The scene is now flooded with young artists paying homage to their baggy-jeaned icons: Wargasm roping in Durst for a guest spot; Poppy dropping David Draiman monkey noises; Vended carrying the spirit of Slipknot. Few rising bands, however, have wholeheartedly embraced the scene’s sound, feel and angst-laden worldview quite as much as Atlanta’s Tetrarch.
Where 2017 debut Freak mixed their nu metal influences with lashings of millennial metalcore, the follow-up, 2021’s Unstable, went straight for the spiked choker-covered jugular, amassing an all-killer, no-filler collection of rock club-ready bangers. Do you remember Adema? Or Spineshank? Or Taproot? It was like one of them had actually managed to make a whole album that was good!
Four years on, and following what the band have described as a period of growth and reflection, Tetrarch are ready to show the world what they’ve added to their sonic arsenal. The truth is: it’s not a whole lot.
If you’re looking for a drastic left-turn into bold new sonic pastures, The Ugly Side Of Me is not gonna serve you too well. This is absolutely a case of a band understanding their strengths and playing to them, and make no mistake about it, Tetrarch are really good at this shit. From the groovy, bassy opening notes of Anything Like Myself, stalls are set out.
‘Lately I haven’t felt anything like myself… make it go away’ laments frontman Josh Fore, channelling the kind of tortured, self-dissecting lyricism that made household names of Jonathan Davis and Chester Bennington. His embittered, desperate snarls remain the perfect tag team partner for Diamond Rowe’s earwormy guitar lines. They’re dished out apace on Live Not Fantasize and Cold, which meld the stadium-sized swagger of mid-career Korn with the glammy industrial stomp of Deathstars, and Headspace, where gothic keys are sprinkled over lurching, grinding riffs.
It all sounds deliciously nostalgic, courtesy of a production job tailor-made for songs like these, each track sounding like it could have been mixed and mastered in the same sessions that gave us Untouchables (though presumably without the $3 million bill).
There are flashes of something new. On both recent single Never Again (Parasite) and the anthemic title track, Diamond trades lead vocals with Josh, creating a welcome fresh dynamic that suits them. Ultimately, though, The Ugly Side Of Me isn’t offering enough new layers to overshadow what Tetrarch have already given us so far.
Still, as a fun, energetic metal album for those who have always loved their rock music catchy as hell and brimming with snotty angst, it ticks every box you could ask for. Not a brave nu world, but pretty sic all the same.
The Ugly Side Of Me is out now via Napalm. Tetrarch play their first shows in the UK in July.
