Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood CD Review

I have heard a lot of the bands that are labeled as 'extreme doom' but Gnaw Their Tongues is the first that really creeped me out. I have chilled out to bands like Sunn, Khanate and Xasthur late at night -- Gnaw Their Tongues will have you turning on all the lights and making sure the doors are locked.

Gnaw Their Tongues is a one-man project by the artist known as Mories. Given the extreme heaviness of this album, I would have expected Mories to look like a member of Gwar or Lordi but, based on his photo, he looks like the type of person that you wouldn't give a second glance to on the street. Mories gave a fairly in-depth interview to Lords of Metal and here is what he had to say about the new CD:

Lords of Metal: I was mortified by the darkness of the album. To classify Gnaw Their Tongues was and is very difficult. How would you call it and why? I mean, it's not metal but very extreme and your songs are far from a pleasant listen. What are the influences of your extreme dark songs? Are they from books films or maybe the desolate plains of Friesland?

Mories: Well I don't know how to call Gnaw Their Tongues. I don't really care either. Like it or not, that's all that matters. Influences? I don't know, I get inspired by all kind of things, but not influenced. Gnaw Their Tongues is about channelling my world view. It's about letting my subconscious roam freely. About letting inner darkness 'shine' bright and furiously! There are plenty of books and films I like, but Gnaw Their Tongues is about real things in this world. No fiction, just true horror.

Getting back on track, this CD is a re-release of the limited edition vinyl release that was released on Burning World earlier this year. This disc has new artwork from the vinyl release and it also contains an extra track - "The Urge to Participate in Butchery". Anyone not familiar with the black metal genre might dismiss this as noise, but that is not at all the case. The songs are structured and purposeful and there is enough substance to draw you into the music. The 'problem' is that once you are drawn in, you start to notice the murmuring voices beneath the strings and, after listening to a bit more of this horror/snuff movie soundtrack, you start to feel the fingers on the back of your neck.

Like most of the extreme doom artist, Mories has released numerous limited edition releases and a number of them are available as free downloads on Gnaw Their Tongues' MySpace page. One of the more interesting downloads is the Bubonic Burial Rights EP.

Gnaw Their Tongues isn't for everyone (it probably isn't for most people) but...download some of the tracks from the band's MySpace page and see if An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood is for you.

Links:
Gnaw Their Tongues' Blog

Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness CD Review

Nadja has to be one of the most prolific bands that I know. "Desire In Uneasiness" contains all new material and was released in April. The band has already announced their next album of new material, "The Bungled and the Botched", which will be released on July 10th.

"Desire In Uneasiness" is the first release for Nadja where the core-duo of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff added a live drummer to the recording process. The live drummer and Baker and Buckareff's focus on using interlocking basses seem to have opened up the band's sound and given it room to breathe. The comparisons to Godflesh no longer seem valid and a good point of comparison for this release is either Earth or the Growing. Like these bands, Nadja's music falls more in the drone category than doom as their sound has none of the menace or darkness of some of their doom contemporaries (i.e. Xasthur and Khanate). The music on this disc builds a soundscape out of slow epic riffs that rise and fall like waves.

While there are only five tracks on this release, this disc clocks in at 60 minutes and most of the tracks are well over 10 minutes. The album plays like a coherent body of work where each of the tracks identifies slight shifts in the environment but each track still fits as a piece of the overall musical landscape.

This release is an exciting step forward for the band and Nadja should find fans in both the Hydrahead and Southern Lord camps.

Links:
Nadja's MySpace profile
Nadja's Website