Metalcore is an incredibly exciting genre to be a fan of, especially in recent years. Bands like Chamber, Boundaries and God Complex are just some of the names that come to mind, all lending a hand to reignite the fire the genre had in its golden years and carving out a refreshing space for bands to play around in; one that’s less polished, more abrasive, and ultimately bursting with energy. One such band that you’ll find in this corner of the metal world is Church Tongue and their new EP ‘You’ll Know It Was Me’ captures all of the aforementioned characteristics and more.
This is one of those EP’s where you need to firmly strap yourself in before you press play. With just six tracks to show off on, Church Tongue have made sure that the only opportunities for respite are in between each song; if they’re making noise, you have nowhere to hide. Surprising, then, that the EP is thematically centred on love and lyrically approaches the subject from different viewpoints. Lead single ‘Bury Me (One Thousand Times)’ musically establishes exactly what you can expect from the release; intense heaviness and relentless aggression woven with flashes of terror. Love has never sounded so sinister.
The record’s opening number ‘Heart Of Darkness’ grabs you by the throat and gradually tightens its grip throughout, throwing vicious vocals and devastating riffs at you from every angle and utilising subtle but impactful tempo changes to enhance their bite. ‘One Hand Wrapped Around The Sun’ continues the pummelling, its relentless pace creating a sense of panic that the barrage of distortion continues to build until it explodes into its closing breakdown. It’s punch after punch, non-stop intensity, and it’s designed to be that way.
Some guests also grace a handful of the tracks, lending their influence to proceedings in a really powerful way. Twitching Tongues vocalist Colin Young appears on the furious ‘When It Betrays’, the only track on the EP that features clean singing and it doesn’t feel out of place in the slightest. ‘The Fury Of Love’ is an evil monster of a track, with stomach churning riffs and some cataclysmic drops that Initiate’s Crystal Pak makes sound even more eerie in the closing moments. The real treat here is the epic title track, with Deafheaven’s George Clarke layering his formidable banshee-esque scream to this black metal-leaning fright-fest about loving someone so much that you’d haunt them if you died first. Cute, right?
Church Tongue have written every track here with intent, in full control of where they’re steering their musical direction to create a collection of tracks that cover a lot of ground in its six tracks. It picks up where their previous release ‘The Hubris Of Gods Departed’ left off and tightens the screws on every aspect of their sound, putting their alluring rawness at its core while pulling thrash, death and black metal influences into their orbit. If you’ve yet to discover Church Tongue this is the perfect place to start. ‘You’ll Know It Was Me’ is about as devastating as metalcore can be.
DAVE STEWART