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. By 2019, they joined the company of
Nine Inch Nails and
Marilyn Manson, recruiting famed industrial producer
Sean Beavan for
Metawar.
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,
Marilyn Manson) 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)." -~ Neil Z. Yeung