There is a considerable buzz around Showing Teeth with the project already collecting nearly a quarter of a million followers on Instagram. Throw in a recent cover interview with Kerrang! plus a support slot for Bring Me The Horizon at their huge show in Manchester's BEC arena, and it's fair to say expectations are high. The band is essentially a solo project (there is a band for live shows), with versatile singer/songwriter Addison being the sole creative mind behind everything on debut EP, A Fate Worse Than Loneliness.
This may be Showing Teeth's debut EP, but the quality of production would tell you otherwise. Everything feels polished, driven and agonised over. However, as is often the case on debut releases, it is difficult to pin down a definitive sound, mainly due to the songwriting dipping toes into so many genres throughout the seven tracks on offer. Initially you're lured into thinking this is going to be a blast of frenetic death/metalcore, with opener “Bad Exchanges” blowing the doors clean off with its bludgeoning intensity. Think along the lines of Knocked Loose teaming up with Employed To Serve at their heaviest and you’re getting close. But, by the time you get to the soaring Ariana Grande-esque pop choruses on finale “Paradigm”, you might be a tad confused with what direction this project wants to go in.
Addison's vocal range is absolutely incredible and clearly the star of the show. Even before we get to the clean vocals her palette of screams are simply stunning. Whether it be guttural growls or high pitched rasps it's all delivered with energy and venom. I’m pleased the clean vocals are not implemented lavishly on every track, especially as there is so much variation in the screams. For example, there's plenty of spiky texture on “Labyrinth” without the, admittedly catchy as hell, angelic chorus. Djent-laden “Rip” uses them in a different way, with a fleeting cameo at the one minute mark, before returning for a suitably flourishing finale. “Make It Out” and “Shallow Grave” do feel like slight mis-steps and go too far down a predictable nu-metal path, but I’m sure I will be in the minority on this point as the more accessible vocals are definitely a huge part of the bands appeal. In fact, I’m going to completely contradict myself now, but I would have preferred “Paradigm” to be brave, ditch the screams entirely, and just embrace its pop anthem glory.
It will be interesting to see which direction they decide to go in for their inevitable full length release, and I hope they manage to laser focus their sound while still holding on to the ferocity present on "Bad Exchanges". I have no doubt that Showing Teeth are going to blow up insanely big over the next 12-18 months and this can only be a good thing for extreme metal, especially if they act as a new gateway for kids to discover other heavy bands. That being said, this is an incredibly promising debut release showcasing a serious vocal talent that will likely be filling arenas in years to come.