3TEETH

American quartet 3Teeth emerged from the shadows of the Los Angeles underground to inject some industrial grit back into the local music scene. With their outspoken socio-political stances, leather-bound aesthetic, and unflinching message, they were able to capture an audience both on a small scale and up the metal food chain with famous fans like Tool and Rammstein. With each successive release, they polished their corrosive attack, expanding their industrial metal sound with 2017′s sophomore release shutdown.exe. and 2019′s Metawar. Their message and sonic palette continued to evolve on 2023′s EndEx.
In 2013, after vocalist Alexis Mincolla and keyboardist/producer Xavier Swafford met at one of Mincolla’s underground “Lil Death” parties, they got together to form the transgressive artistic collaborative. Along with drummer Andrew Means and guitarist Chase Brawner, they created an all-inclusive experience wherein they self-produced all their music and visuals, including their videos, which served as biting social commentary and tongue-in-cheek propaganda, similar to Rammstein or Tool. Their sound strikes a familiar tone for anyone who is a fan of early-’90s Wax Trax or the pop-industrial trinity of Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and Nine Inch Nails. In June 2014, they released their self-titled debut, which was quickly followed by a remix collection in October of the same year. 3Teeth were in the midst of recording a second LP, but fate took them down a different path: after a chance meeting with Adam Jones (Tool) at a wedding — Mincolla and Jones were both in the groom’s party — the band was invited to open Tool’s 2016 tour with Primus, opening 3Teeth up to a much wider audience. After the conclusion of the trek, 3Teeth returned to the studio and unveiled “Degrade” — the first taste of their sophomore effort shutdown.exe, which arrived in May 2017. Following stints opening for Rammstein, Danzig, and H.I.M., the band got to work on their third album, recruiting shutdown.exe mixer Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails) as producer. Metawar (Century Media) was issued in July 2019, just as the band hit the road with Ministry. The typically caustic set included the singles “American Landfill” and “EXXXIT,” as well as their subversive take on Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.” In April 2021, they released Guns Akimbo, a two-track 7″, in conjunction with the Daniel Radcliffe-starring action film of the same name. The album featured covers of Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” and Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record Baby).”
By 2023, the band were primed for a new album era, releasing singles “Slum Planet,” “Merchant of the Void,” and “Scorpion,” which all appeared on their fourth set EndEx. Pushing their brutal sound and pointed social commentary even further, the album also revealed the evolution of their songcraft, resulting in their most accessible collection to date. For EndEx, Mincolla and company worked with famed video game composer Mick Gordon (Doom, Wolfenstein, Killer Instinct) and rap duo Ho99o9 (“Paralyzed”). ~ Neil Z. Yeung