Tetrarch Shows Us Something nü with "The Ugly Side of Me"

Swarming through the music world is the sound of evolution. It's screaming, it's seething, it's alive, and it's curated by nü-metalcore rockstars, 𝐓𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. Releasing their third album, "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑈𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑒," their second with 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, Tetrarch offers a 10-track masterpiece that breathes onto the skin and leaves marks, stamped in self-preservation and self-reflection in the face of our darker mirror antonymy and lacerations. For long-time fans like myself waiting for a sequel to 2021's "𝑈𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒," the four-year wait is over, and it was very much worth the wait. This is one of the most creative albums 2025 has thrown out to us thus far, in my opinion, and it showcases that nü-metal is not dead; it is reborn. This group, formed in 2007 out of Atlanta, Georgia, honor the foundations of the genre but don't limit themselves to it. Tetrarch invites you to truly see the ugly side of ourselves.

Joined in co-production with 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨 (producer for numerous other metal acts such as 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐣𝐚𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧), this thing is a mutation with absolutely insane guitar and bass work, viscous guitar solos, demanding punching drums, and merciless vocal delivery and giant choruses fit for main stages. From the jump, the album opens up with "𝐴𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑀𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓," an onslaught showcasing what you're in for—bouncing riffs, a call to the moshpit, the onslaught drums of 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐬, and powerful choruses from founding vocalist and rhythm guitarist 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞 worthy of main stages.

The first thing you may notice if you're new to the Tetrarch sound is lead guitarist and one of the founding members, 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐰𝐞, crowned recently as 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫's first female signature guitarist. She delivers haunting leads, echoing from the old world of 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐲 and 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 of 𝐊𝐨𝐑𝐧, along with a cross of metalcore and nü-metal riff collisions. As my favorite band is also Korn (with 𝐼𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑠' album art tattooed on me, and also being a guitarist from Atlanta, Georgia), Diamond inspires musicians such as myself that creating art is limitless, timeless and that she's an original innovator of her instrument who's earned her place.

The star of this album for me was their second single released for this album, "𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐴𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 (𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒)." For the first time showcasing Diamond on vocal duties, along with a hypnotizing music video, this track and its lyrics demanded such a response from my mind and body that during the breakdown of the song I felt everything at once—what this album was meant for—to save. I usually go for mosh-pit-worthy music, but this track has made me see a side of myself that I locked away. It's a beautiful piece.

"𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝐹𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒" brings you out of the waters from the previous track and throws you into an industrial-esque anthem, ripping an insane guitar solo that we all need tabs for; this one is a killer listen.

Along with "𝐵𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑢𝑐𝑘," furthering variety with bassist 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 “𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬” 𝐋𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 and drummer 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐬 dangling an almost hip-hop-inspired track at us, groovy as hell. Diamond taps more into her shredding with "𝐸𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑒" and "𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑑"; a lot of guitarists are going to use the DigiTech Whammy Pedal after these. "𝐶𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑙" and "𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒" let fans know that the sound Tetrach has found itself becoming is refined and better with every release. A lot of this is heavy, rocking your face one after the other, and 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡's mix of clean, dream-like choruses to quick, almost rap-like verses and harsh breakdowns are signature and instantly recognizable. "𝑂𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑡" showing a 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤-inspired ode about withstanding the pain and not breaking before the winds. Wrapping up with the self-titled track, "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑈𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑒," the band reminds you what this album was about—confronting the ugly: the parts of you that are infected with guilt, mistakes, and missing parts.

Just like Tetrarch has shown with this album, you too can evolve, grow, and become something more.

Catch Tetrarch on tour this summer in Europe here: