Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood (2007)

Named after a verse in the bible, Gnaw Their Tongues is the solo endeavor of one Maurice de Jong from Drachten, Netherlands. Formed as far back as 2005, Maurice has been highly prolific over the years releasing no less than seven full-length albums and many, many EPs and split releases as well as a few compilations and singles. Musically existing somewhere between funeral doom, drone, ambient, harsh industrial and a smidgen of black metal, 'An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood' is absolutely one of the darkest, unique and perverse albums I've ever heard.

Gnaw Their Tongues

Through seven songs and forty six minutes of music Maurice takes the listener through an audial gallery of grotesquery, a haunting collection of horror themed synths, trembling ultra heavy guitars, rumbling percussion, harshly screamed vocals, abrasive noise and a shit ton of samples. The overall feeling of the whole record is one of both a very oppressive and insidious atmospheres, but also one that is absolutely haunting and macabre in its delivery.

'Teeth That Leer Like Open Graves' perfectly blends together the projects maniacal nature with portions of the videotaped confession of Dennis Rader, aka 'The BTK killer' as he explains the details of his first murder, the entire Otero family. 'The Sewer Rats of Calcutta' is similarly impressive as it just sounds like a downward spiral straight to hell with a sampled choir and a bawling female voice its just pure horror.

Perhaps a negative quality is that there isn't much in terms of melody, though at times the synths do take on a more melodic character, such is the case with the ending of, 'The Urge To Participate In Butchery.' Generally though the album sticks to a similar formula and whether or not it works is entirely up to the listener and their appreciation towards twisted funeral doom, drone, ambient and industrial related music all coalescing at once.

To date this is the only record I own from Gnaw Their Tongues and although I'm curious to hear more I sort of wonder if the structure has changed over the years. Therefore, I've just stuck to this one and enjoyed it greatly for the past five years. Truly though if you seek something a bit different, challenging and utterly creepy sounding then give this one a shot.