On August 7, 2020, THE VICE released "White Teeth Rebellion." This album marks their second full-length release, after their self-titled album from 2016. THE VICE formed in Sweden back in 2012. Earlier this year, they signed onto the Noble Demon Records label. They describe "White Teeth Rebellion" as a dark and "meanasfuck" album. Let's dig into whether or not it's as mean as they say.

THE VICE describes their sound as black and roll. Clearly, it's meant to be a mix of black metal and rock and roll. The rock and roll elements are readily apparent. The guitar licks wail while the bass fills out the low-end of every track. The drumming keeps each track at a slow to mid-tempo pace. The overall effect is catchy rock and roll. The black metal elements to THE VICE's sound are a lot harder to pick out. The only thing that somewhat sounds like it could be black metal influenced are the vocals, which are performed with a quiet, gravelly growl.

"Tremors" is an instrumental opening track. While I normally wouldn't comment on a short intro track, this one is short but still manages to build anticipation with a restrained, slow pace and dark sound. The second track "A Barren State" is the one that kicks off the album in earnest. The guitar riff is thoroughly in the style of rock and roll. It's catchy and repetitive. In combination with the mid-tempo drumming and quietly chugging bass, there is a strong groove in this track.

Not all tracks grabbed me in the same way. For instance, I was underwhelmed by the titular track "White Teeth Rebellion." For most rock and metal music, if you don't like the riff for whatever reason, then you probably won't like the track. That is particularly true for this album because the guitar melody is the main focus and driver for the music and sound of a song. "To Each His Own" stood out to me for its similarity to early gothic metal, like TIAMAT. It's paced like a power ballad, slow at first, but constantly building to the outro that's their usual mid-tempo. Rock albums do tend to have power ballads, and this one isn't bad.

Overall, I recommend this album, though it is difficult to nail down a particular demographic of potential listeners. Anybody that can handle vocals with a bit of a growl and appreciates good old rock and roll would like this album. While the rock elements were solid, the black metal elements were lacking. Without them, it's just a rock and roll album with slightly dirty vocals. Black metal is a fantastic genre with a lot of elements and stylistic options to incorporate, like the characteristic tremolo picking. If even some of those elements were incorporated, this album would be even better.