Band: Baring Teeth
Title: Atrophy
Label: Willowtip
Distribution: Hammerheart Records
Release date: June 20th 2011
Review: CD

Baring Teeth hail from Dallas, USA, and consist of Scott Addison (b/v), Andrew Hawkins (g/v) and Jason Roe (d). The trio started after Man Is Mostly Water split-up; they originally started with the moniker Soviet, and as Baring Teeth the trio debuts officially with Atrophy (called after their 2010-demo; the three songs of this demo, by the way, do appear on this full length), which is a rather unique album with a total running time of forty two minutes. Since the band changed its name, the members use fewer elements from (traditional) Grindcore, yet the extremity did not disappear at all. Nor did the technical and slightly experimental approach.
Baring Teeth perform Death Metal, yet certainly not of the usual kind. The band’s approach is avant-garde inspired, mathematically progressive and extremely malignant. It comes with details from Hardcore in a mostly basic way, and Funk, Jazz and this kind of shit, as well as elements from Sludge / Doom (very important, because present in almost each track, and necessary to offer counterbalance to the lightning-speed violence and schizophrenic outbursts of sonic madness) at the one hand, and Blast-Death at the other. The progressive variation has been well-thought with psychotic intelligence, yet from time to time it’s somewhat over the top. Nothing wrong with experimenting, yet in case of exaggeration, I cannot help getting cynical. Luckily it’s only a limited couple of times that I wonder why these guys try to sound like some hyper-kinetic symbiosis of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Cephalic Carnage, yet of the uninspired kind. Especially during the first part of the album, I sometimes wonder… Yet the second part is above expectations. And what’s more: the production: dry, grumpy, droning and full of grindings. The most perfect sound for this kind of lullabies.
Top-notch: the long (over twelve minutes) ending track Tower Of Silence, because… well, just listen and experience the most drone-ambient-industrialised Grind-Doom constructions from the US.
Recommended to open-minded fans of, well, everything between Soilent Green, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Ion Dissonance, Gorguts, The Red Chord and Burnt By The Sun, or younger combos like The Last Felony, All Else Failed and Comity. Really worthwhile listening to if you like aggression and progression à la these acts.

85/100

Ivan Tibos.