### The Red Chord: Fed through the teeth machine

#### 07/01/10 || Euthanatos

We’re a strange bunch here at Global Domination. The only review we have up for The Red Chord is the one for “Prey For Eyes”, which was a good album, but nowhere near as good as their debut, “Fused Together in Revolving Doors”. Is that album reviewed here? Nope. Neither is “Clients”, but that one wasn’t very good anyway. Now, we are blessed/cursed with their fourth release, “Fed Through the Teeth Machine”, which has a great name, and therefore, I will review it for you. Not because I like the band, but because I like the name of the album. That’s right.

The Red Chord is a pretty violent and chaotic outfit, I think we can all agree on that. Although they’ve appeared to the world amidst the “core” revolution (you know, deathcore, mathcore, metalcore), I don’t really fit them with the bunch. There’s no core here, maybe a pinch of grindcore, but technical death metal, disorganized and schizophrenic death metal at that, is what The Red Chord is really about.

“Fed Through the Teeth Machine” is a nice progression on “Prey for Eyes”, as it sounds more pissed off and the breakdowns are so breaky it almost breaks your neck! Hah, that’s poetry for you.

Instrumentally and vocally, the band is at its peak, certainly. Guy Kozowyk is screaming his balls off, and his vocals show a lot of depth to them, aggressive through and through. This guy is totally underrated and more people should be licking his balls. Brad Fickeisen’s drumming is insanely intense and Mike McKenzie’s guitar work is disturbed and fascinating at the same time.

Yes, there are moments when all this mayhem gets tiring and confusing, it’s not easy listening to this in one sitting. This is like Meshuggah playing while drunk.

My main problem with The Red Chord throughout the year, particularly post-debut, is their lack of memorable songs. On the whole, the albums are interesting takes on chaos and auditory destruction, but I’d like to pick moments to highlight. Fortunately, this new album has them, such as “Embarrassment Legacy” and “Hour of Rats”. That’s a major improvement there.

In short, The Red Chord are still trying to break the barrier between reality and some fucked up dimension with ghouls and no-headed dragons with their music, which at times can be distressing, but a good ride if you’re into LSD and buttfucking.

The cover: The teeth machine about to consume the world. Nice, but the previous one was better.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: www.theredchord.com
- Band
- Guy Kozowyk: vocals
- Mike “Gunface” McKenzie: guitars
- Greg Weeks: bass
- Brad Fickeisen: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Demoralizer
- 02. Hour of Rats
- 03. Hymns and Crippled Anthems
- 04. Embarrassment Legacy
- 05. Tales of Martyrs and Disappearing Acts
- 06. Floating Through the Vein
- 07. Ingest the Ash
- 08. One Robot to Another
- 09. Mouthful of Precious Stones
- 10. The Ugliest Truth
- 11. Face Area Solution
- 12. Sleepless Nights in the Compound