Review: “Torment” by Wretched Tongues

Hailing from Manchester New Hampshire, Technical Deathcore collective Wretched Tongues have been trying our patience since 2017 EP “Burial Grounds“, regularly releasing fresh material with 2022 debut album “Ulter Praefinitum” the kind of thing the crazies warn you about. You casually ignore them only to check it out in quiet moment and get subjected to an attempt at getting your skull caved in. Who knew? In their time vocalist Coty Garcia, guitarists Brad Bolser and Jeff Key, drummer Matty Gardner and bassist Matt Nogueira have also been joined by Jamie Hanks of I Declare War, Dan Tucker of Crown Magnetar for guest appearances…

The absence of any introduction is an interesting move as Garcia’s demonic possession Slam inspired vocals start from the second second of “Ascendancy“, the sheer feroisity of his fire breathing antics not to be underestimated. Put simply, he’s not a vocalist. He’s a dragon. Every single word he utters sears and scalds anyone withing 30 feet, burning and blistering the ear drums as these cuts play out. A frantic and frenetic set of razor sharp Technical Deathcore riffage accompanies him, the almost inhuman artillery shelling from Gardner enough to make you think you were running from Skynet in the apocalyptic future that is Terminator. The false ending is incredibly well worked allowing for a momentary breathing space before the kind of downtempo breakdown that causes tectonic plates to rumble. “Death Orchestra” finds the first of the guests in Adam Warren of Oceano fame lending his throat and as you would expect is just as vicious an onslaught. Death growls reach gravelly bowel clenching lows while the rampaging guitar work takes a leaf from the book of Inferi as it flies through at breakneck speed. The Japanese culture influences in the cover art are the perfect reflection of some of the programming used on this one, cleverly integrated to ensure a seamlessness. “Alpha Omega” finds Garcia reaching schizophrenic levels of insanity with his vocals, the bree moments taking the intensity to a whole new realm of existence. How they manage to keep up the energy levels during this one is a miracle but playing it live is going to take some serious time in the rehearsal space to get nailed every time. The violent turbulence they generate throws you around like a small boat in a gale and that’s before Jake Wolf from Reflections steps aboard for “Seppuku“. Pushing the extremes of Deathcore and Death Metal to their absolute limits, an organ plays the tempo of the damned as the band deliver stuccato riff break infestations that put the fear of God into anyone not acclimatised. A restless and relentless nature and a defiant determination to create complete annihilation is held within the confines of this one. The band hammering home the nails into the coffin lid and ensuring that it stays shut with what sounds like little bit of synth in the final moments. Sounds like a call to Misstiq could be on the way… [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Ascendancy
2. Death Orchestra (ft. Adam Warren of Oceano)
3. Alpha Omega
4. Seppuku (ft. Jake Wolf of Reflections)

“Torment” by Wretched Tongues is out now and available over at bandcamp.