Metalcatto
At MER, we mostly review music that’d make your friends call your shrink more than once — or, well, music that’s doing its best to give Stravinsky a run for his money. However, sometimes your humble servant is fed up with deciphering what the heck is going on and just wants to sit back and headbang like a peasant. Tetrarch’s The Ugly Side of Me (so edgy!) promises to keep it fun, cool, and simple for once. And I, for once, hope that’s what we get out of this Nu-Metal nostalgia trip.
And here I thought Nu-Metal was dead after its strange return during the pandemic era — but no. Tetrarch feels as if Korn had gone to space and come back with a ton of robot parts (that sounds so bad, at this point it’s probably going to happen). It’s loud and angsty, I can’t lie — it gives me a strange warm feeling when I hear that wall of sound hitting me at full blast. It’s like a giant wave about to take everything in its path. Also, there’s nothing philosophical going on — these are people singing about… their feelings? Yuck! But hey, they at least make some sense. That’s more than I can say for half of the “poetic” stuff you guys send me sometimes.
All the riffing is familiar — let’s face it — and the tracks live and die by how catchy the choruses are. You could actually find this on the radio one day, by accident, in the “extreme, not for anyone” section. However, there are guitar solos here and there, so don’t worry — this is a full-on Nu-Metal revival. Some good habits still survive. And yet, it’d be dishonest of me not to tell you that there are things here that break the spell of nostalgia. So get ready for the bad part!
No cargo pants? Sad!
I feel like The Ugly Side of Me is the musical equivalent of eating an awesome chocolate cake in one go — no water, no break, just pure sugar. There has to be a point when you start to feel nauseous. Well, something like that happens here. It’s so pretty, catchy, and clean that by the second round with the album, my ears needed a break from so much bombastic action and kind of predictable ideas. I understand that Tetrarch isn’t complicated, but I’d like something less Linkin Park at times (the old one, not whatever is going on with that band right now).
So, even with all the excesses we’ve got here, The Ugly Side of Me is a fun ride that can distract you from the pain of existence for a few minutes. And if you’re a 2000s or 2020s Metalhead, this will probably be the nicest nostalgia trip you’ve had to that embarrassing phase you now act like never happened. But for everyone else stuck somewhere in the middle? Maybe you should be looking for memories somewhere else.
Label: Napalm Records
Release date: 9 May, 2025
Website: https://www.facebook.com/tetrarchmusic/
Country: USA
Score: 2.5/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 