Ohio's Church Tongue are hardcore/metalcore newcomers to watch moving forward with wicked new EP, 'The Hubris of Gods Departed'.
I don't care who you are or how cool you think you are, 'The Hubris Of Gods Departed' is a dope name for a heavy band release. This is the title of Church Tongue's short but sweet new three-track EP, which in barely eight minutes, is some of the fiercest metalcore I've heard all year. Is it derivative? No duh, but it's sick! If you're a fan of END and Zao, then this will be right up your alley.
Well-produced by ex-Misery Signals guitarist, Gregory Thomas, and mastered by Will Putney, Church Tongue's second EP is a step up for this relatively unknown American group. A hefty haymaker in hard-as-nails hardcore form. Following 2018's 'Hell Is Empty', these three songs pack a wallop of metallic riffs, knuckle-dragging breakdowns, beefy drumming and bitter vocals woven deep into its hardened exterior. We've all heard this stuff before countless times, but Church Tongue have a sense of drive, a competency, that most new bands don't develop until years later.
A cracking drum fill lets loose 'Nothing Lost,' an attack upon all deceivers and their blood-soaked words, whether interpersonal or political. From this snappy intro, you're hit with a tough-guy hardcore section before a fast, blood-pumping punk passage fires off. More than just blunt force trauma, some actual melody and dissonant harmony creep into the guitars, as the band zig-zag between varying tempos and rhythms. Eventually sticking to a tried-and-true syncopated breakdown that's straight outta 2004 as the air hangs heavy with the final line of "No one will remember you."
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
As the shortest track of this deadly trio, anti-theist and anti-religious sentiments leap forward in 'Your Deepest Grave.' This is the kind of skittish, angular 2000's metalcore that's seen a huge revival over the last four or so years, complete with a pre-breakdown build-up (and a sick pay-off) that'll make any hairline-receding genre fan in their 30's reminiscent of their younger mosh days.
Easily the best of the three, we have 'No Prisoner Of Blood,' which, and I hate saying this as it's a dumb internet term, truly slaps. It's an interesting discussion piece about the grip that vengeance can have around our lives, to make sure that we aren't a captive of an inner blood-lust to "get even." It takes a darker progression shift two-thirds through with murkier, detuned guitar ring-outs, with the distorted chugs and confronting screaming pulling back, right before a final furious breakdown blow can be delivered with a final declaration: "this song will die. Let me out."
I'm not sure how to articulate it, but there's something about this band, about how this EP, that hits so deep. I have a good feeling Church Tongue will be destined for great things beyond 2021.
