Gnaw Their Tongues - Abyss Of Longing Throats review
| Band: | Gnaw Their Tongues |
| Album: | Abyss Of Longing Throats |
| Style: | Drone, Noise, Experimental black metal |
| Release date: | August 07, 2015 |
| A review by: | X-Ray Rod |
01. Lick The Poison From The Cave Walls
02. Through Flesh
03. Abyss Of Longing Throats
04. From The Black Mouth Of Spite
05. The Holy Body
06. And They Will Be Cast Out Into Utter Darkness
07. Up Into The Heavens Down Into The Circles Of Hell
Gnaw Their Tongues has always been my favorite project by the well-known sonic terrorist that is Mories. Reasons are plenty: The overall cinematographic aspect of his compositions; The structures that remain invisible at first but take form the more you listen to the numerous releases; The perfect marriage of black metal, noise, drone, ambient and other nightmarish influences. It's simply put, his most well-rounded project.
And yet...something feels different. Something feels very odd. Could it be that I've been disconnected to the madness? Have I stared far too long into the void that I no longer respond properly to the insanity? Am I too influenced by the putrid glory of previous works? In any case, I'm just not feeling it as I used to. Which is difficult for me to explain as everything is working fine on paper. The music remains as visual as ever, perhaps even more than with previous works. There's enough sense of improvisation to provide suspense. There are plenty of hypnotic passages, intricate use of percussion and of course the inhuman howls, screams, moans, and growls are present in all their pitch black fashion.
My bet? The production. Something went wrong there. The clearer production takes away far too much of the haziness. The fog that disoriented me with each release. The fog that left me confused, paranoid, claustrophobic, and disgusted is barely present. I'm not saying that the production should make the instruments sound poor and indistinguishable. Not at all! My problem here is that everything feels more?physical, more tangible. It's hard to explain. It's like explaining why a horror movie or book didn't phase me and why another left me in a corner without been able to close my eyes. The vocals, for example, have more room than before. Which is not a great move if you ask me. Vocals for this type of music are best kept in the background as an extra layer of madness. This is a prime example of how the atmosphere created by music can be influenced just by moving the knobs.
Now it's worth mentioning that Abyss Of Longing Throats still carries the elements that made Gnaw Their Tongues the God-tier project that is today. I don't doubt that Mories' previous works make this album pale far more than it is fair. This is why this album might be a good door for the newcomers to open, as its' songwriting and atmosphere could be considered more accessible to some. As for me, a seasoned listener, I'll wait patiently for another deadly album that will grab me by the throat and make me feel paradoxically alive.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 6 |
 | Written on 28.09.2015 by A lazy reviewer but he is so cute you'd forgive him for it. |
Comments
Comments: 10
Visited by: 238 users
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Quote: I think you just nailed it with that. I too was really struggling with how to explain why this album pleased me significantly less than many of the other GTT ones, and that might be it. The vocals just aren't as buried in the mix as they usually are, which is a mandatory technique for this type of music, if you ask me. Mories clearly went for something different here, which is nothing short of admirable, don't get me wrong..... seems we just didn't end up caring for it all that much. Also... I retain the point I made on the thread page for the album: I really feel like the first half of this is rather redundant, and that it's only around that 4th track that things start picking up and getting very interesting and diverse. That's not a bad thing, as it means that the album gets better as it progresses, which is always good, but on the flip side of that it also means you have to kind of trim back some of the fat before you get to the good stuff, which is a bit bothersome. Overall though, I mean, this is still better than about 95% of what else has been put out this year, if you ask me. At least in terms of composition and layering of various sound effects. Oh, and Cloak Of Altering > Gnaw Their Tongues for life. Come at me, bro 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374  |
I don't have much troubles with the consistency. A highlight from this album is actually in the first half, "Through Flesh". If I recall correctly, that's the first track that was released and I thought it was nice, specially since it went back on the highly cinematographic atmosphere found in albums like "An Epiphanic..." and also the experimentation in drum patterns found in "Per Flagellum..." . BUUUUUT, the production problems are obvious on that song as well.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| koob Posts: 367 |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by koob on 28.09.2015 at 22:33 Or for the collab with Dragged Into Sunlight... the teaser for that one sounded promising, at the very least
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Karlabos Posts: 5736  |
Interesting. I too have felt this albums was a bit off but didn't stop to analyse why. Are you right though, I wonder? Had the production been uncleaner, such overcast would have managed to inflict the nostalgic dreariness upon us? I have yet to listen to this again and try to imagine what it would sound like with the older production, but my bet is what you said on the second paragraph is instead the reason for it, unfortunately. =p
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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| V01d Posts: 84  |
I could be talking out of my ass here, but perhaps since Mories has recently decided to bring Gnaw Their Tongues to the stage, he might have developed all or some of the album with that in mind. Perhaps he wanted to make an album that would be easier to translate live. That might explain the decrease in use of layering, "sleeker" production, shorter song lengths, more easily discernible song structures, and upfront vocals. Just conjecture.
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Karlabos on 29.09.2015 at 01:06 Naaaah. but yeah maybe I am getting way too used to this crazy shit. Also, you are not really following what I consider to be a better production. It wasn't about being a blur. But the vocals are way up front. This really changes the way everything else is heard. Most of the times without vocals are pretty great for example. Written by V01d on 29.09.2015 at 06:57 You bring up an interesting point, old chap. Although I'm pretty sure he didn't play songs off this album when Che and I saw him back in April.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| V01d Posts: 84 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 29.09.2015 at 08:34 Aye! Even then, some bands are prudes about playing new material before their new album drops, though this is Mories we're talking about here, so who knows? That's awesome you and Che got to see him live, how was it? Also, great review! This album does sound very different production-wise from the others, but I am enjoying it for what it is.
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| kezzapgurbuz Posts: 11 |
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| RaduP CertifiedHipster Staff Posts: 9028  |
I remember when I first listened to this record my headphones were broken, but I didn't notice until the album I had in my playlist after this one.
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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