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Baring Teeth > Atrophy > Reviews
Baring Teeth - Atrophy

Dentistry via tornado - 68%

autothrall, December 28th, 2011

Willowtip Records is generally associated with the more technical and spastic side of death, grind and metalcore, so it was with reservations that I decided to check out the debut Atrophy from Texas hopefuls Baring Teeth. I'm not a huge proponent for music that sounds like a bunch of monkeys looped to IVs of crystal meth and testosterone, but every now and again I'll take a bite into such controlled chaos, and with Atrophy, I was surprised to retain both my composure and sanity. Essentially, this trio exudes a sense of mathematical, spring loaded efficiency that they've loaded up into a dynamic palette of cautiously sculpted dissonance. I suppose much of the music here could be labeled 'mathcore' or 'math metal' or whatnot, but the brute vocals and general aggression place it well within the sphere of the technical and progressive death artistry.

In particular, I was heavily reminded of the Canadians Gorguts' unhinged, 1998 shocker Obscura, only that seemed to deceptively operate along a looser structural axis than this album. Baring Teeth doesn't seem interested in an improvisational architecture, though the spurious nature of their riffing might often cast that illusion. While the plunking bass lines and drums are incredibly dynamic and well-practiced, the central focus here rests upon the dissonant, often dreary guitars which mold an atmosphere of reflection and hostility. Songs like "Atrophy" itself, "End" and "The Dead Hand" all feature zippy, cathartic sequences of textured, jangling notes that keep the listener affixed as if he or she were observing some trapeze artist routine. I admit I was more impressed when the band explored a greater level of detail and variation, as with the slower, drawn out passages in "Distilled in Fire" or "Scarred Fingertips", but my favorite chunk of the album is the bridge between "Distilled..." and "Vestigial Birth". Here a simple, hypnotic bass line thunks along to the jazzy drumming, soon glazed in waltzing, eerie guitars.

Reminded me of something the Salt Lake City artcore band Iceburn might have churned out back in the 90s, and I almost wished there were more such breakdowns on this album. I was not always enamored of the bouncier, clown-like rhythms they manifest in several of the songs, so when they give their writing a chance to breathe, like the sheen of atmospheric guitars over the slow paced drums in the staggering 12+ minute instrumental finale "Tower of Silence", it becomes far more engrossing. I also was not feeling the vocals so much. Standard, functional broad gutturals, sure, but rather subdued and monotonous next to the flexibility of the guitars, though they'll occasionally accent them with some angst-ridden bark in the backdrop.

That said, Atrophy is not a bad record. Baring Teeth have captured a pretty good range of tempos here, and never dwell on any one for an excess of run time. The boxy, organic tone of the guitars is well suited to the style, and fans of the aforementioned Obscura, post-hardcore influenced tech death like recent Ulcerate, or the more mathematical, rhythmic side of Converge, Botch and Dillinger Escape Plan might want to give this a whirl.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

An uncommon fusion of technicality and atmosphere - 90%

Roswell47, September 28th, 2011

Somehow DFW's Baring Teeth managed to fly under my radar until the band was signed by Willowtip early this year. Maybe it was because the band used to be called Soviet, and I never made the connection after the name change. Maybe I just never caught a show where the band happened to be playing. Whatever the case, Baring Teeth is one of those rare young groups that shows up one day, fully-developed and sounding like a veteran band.

On its debut album, Atrophy, Baring Teeth blends tons of disparate influences to create its own unique death metal sound, and it works surprisingly well. These different influences are sewn together in a manner that is virtually seamless. Due to the band's image, dudes in Deeds of Flesh long-sleeves may approach Baring Teeth with some skepticism and may even bristle at the artwork and the band photos. Visually, one will be reminded of a band like Dysrhythmia more than death metal. Baring Teeth main-man Andrew Hawkins even plays a very "un-death metal" Stratocaster and uses a glass slide from time-to-time. (Check out the awesome percussive slide work in "Distilled in Fire.") Nevertheless, Baring Teeth is essentially a technical / progressive death metal band in the vein of later-era Gorguts. But there's a little more to it than that. "Scarred Fingertips" has a Tool feel to part of Scott Addison's bass-line. There are plenty of moments of droning Neurosis-style atmosphere in both "Distilled in Fire" and "Tower of Silence." There's even a dash of The Dillinger Escape Plan in some of the spastic riffs of the previously mentioned "Distilled in Fire." Baring Teeth's sparsely-used muffled growls will remind one of early Incantation, and Jason Roe's jaw-dropping drumming is versatile and jazzy throughout the album. Against all odds, Baring Teeth manages to make all of these wildly varying elements fit together and makes it sound like it takes little effort. This is death metal for music dorks, and I love it.

If you dig Gorguts' Obscura and/or you like the more adventurous side of death metal, check out Atrophy post-haste. You might even want to start with "Distilled in Fire." The track houses most of Baring Teeth's style within one song. Baring Teeth is almost like a death metal version of Deathspell Omega. The band is playing within a genre, but they are pushing its boundaries to the limits with an uncommon fusion of technicality and atmosphere. Buy Atrophy now and be the "cool kid" who knew about Baring Teeth before the rest of your friends.

Originally written for http://www.metalpsalter.com