exploremusic

Leading up to the release of The Red Chord’s fourth album, some fans might be wondering how the music holds up now that the band is down to a four-piece.

The answer is "excellently."

Most describe their style as grind/deathcore, but it’s hard to cover everything the band does with a label. There are thrashier moments and some sparser interludes that are effective without testing the listeners’ patience. A couple of times they’ll go from a heavy part to chords that sound bright, for lack of a better word, and you’ll also find some blast beats and creative breakdowns on Fed Through The Teeth Machine.

It all flows incredibly well. The musicianship is to be commended, of course, but I think it primarily comes down to excellent songwriting. The musicians also switch things up within the structures of the songs that leave the riffs seeming fully explored. For instance, now lone guitarist Mike “Gunface” McKenzie and drummer Brad Fickeisen will each occasionally follow the vocal rhythm on their instruments before returning to the rhythm they were laying down before. This also emphasizes how well each instrument, including vocals, fits together.

Speaking of the vocals, Guy Kozowyk really has a lot going for him. His performance matches the heaviness of the music, but it seems like he’s often telling stories through the songs as opposed to just putting words to feelings—not to say that his feelings don’t come through.

I can’t say specifically what many songs on Fed Through The Teeth Machine are about, partly because I haven’t caught all the words yet and partly because the lyrics seem open to interpretation. Kozowyk does actually explain in the press release what album closer "Sleepless Nights In The Compound" is about, and I won’t tell you in case you’d rather just interpret it yourself. I will say, though, that it’s a crazy idea for a song or anything else, and he has one vivid imagination.

The bottom line is that this album is heavy and intelligently crafted, and each band member meets the high standard they set when they wrote the songs.

Check out The Red Chord on MySpace and click here for the band’s official site.