I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing Toothgrinder perform live and they’ve always been very impressive in their performances. I had very high expectations going into their newest offering and I will be quite honest – this one left me a bit confused.

For those who are not familiar, Toothgrinder are an experimental metal band from Asbury Park , New Jersey. They have three EPs and one full-length album in their discography and they’re coming out with their latest effort titled ‘Phantom Amour’. 

The album begins with “HVY” which has an industrial metal vibe to it but quickly meanders into a self-reflective alt-metal voyage with a chorus that reminded me a lot of Korn. The next track called “The Shadow” alternates between face-pummeling chorus and a moody verse structure. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s not a bad song either.

“Let It Ride” has a very Sevendust like sound to it but again, has very little to offer in terms innovative songwriting. Not dissing the band for sounding somewhat commercial but this song reminds me a lot of Nickelbackand I’m not saying whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing necessarily as it does have sick breakdown section and a ridiculous guitar solo.

Innovation is supplied in some parts on the title track “Phantom Amour” but it still sticks to it’s heavy riff followed by quiet verses followed by anthem like choruses . “Red” definitely has some really strong sections in terms of rhythmic arrangements but suffers from a weak chorus.

“Jubilee” offers a nice change of pace and sounds pretty much out of the mid-2000s alt-rock period. I absolutely loved that era of music so needless to say this track appealed to me significantly.

If you are waiting on your mosh-pit fit, look no further than “Pietà”. It’s an absolute ripper. There’s absolutely nothing I want more than to headbang to this track and just when you thought the next station is going to be even more bone-crunching, you are met with a stop sign with “Snow”. This one is really a slow-burner and I found nothing worth relating to on this track.

The last three tracks titled “Vagabond”, “Futile” and “Facing East from a Western Shore” are very well situated and carry the record comfortably into its conclusion. The guitar work and vocals are mint.

So this left me in a very weird position. I was aware of their live performance going into the record so in some sense, I had a specific expectation. At the same time, I could not help notice a tendency to use a specific formula used on multiple songs. There were moments in the some songs where I was super excited and others where I felt deflated. So, this record for me is one of those, it’s decent but not something out of the ordinary.  I know these guys have a lot of potential and there will be fans who’ll love this record. For me, at this time, it was a fun listen, but that’s about it.