Church Tongue are ear-catching metalcore newcomers on 'The Hubris of Gods Departed' EP

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."

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.