The Midwest hardcore outfit Church Tongue is back with their latest EP, You'll Know It Was Me, via Pure Noise Records. With a reputation for emotionally raw and sonically punishing compositions, this six-track offering showcases the band’s evolution, intensity, and a deep, unfiltered exploration of love in its many forms.
Despite its blistering sound, You'll Know It Was Me is, at its core, an exploration of love—self-love, toxic relationships, and unwavering devotion. Church Tongue dives deep into the complexities of human emotion, dissecting love in its most raw and unfiltered forms. The record highlights the fragile duality of love—how it can be both a source of immense strength and an agent of destruction. Whether it manifests as self-preservation, an aching attachment to the past, or an obsessive, haunting presence, love is the driving force behind every note and lyric.
One of the EP’s defining aspects is its powerful guest appearances, each bringing a unique force to the table. Colin Young (Twitching Tongues), Crystal Pak (Initiate), and George Clarke (Deafheaven) elevate their respective tracks, transforming You'll Know It Was Me into a collaborative force of destruction and emotion. Nicko Calderon notes, "We shot for the stars and it just clicked. George said yes, Colin said yes, Crystal said yes—it was unreal." These contributions not only solidify the EP’s thematic depth but also push its intensity to uncharted levels.
From the harrowing opener "Heart of Darkness" to the chilling closer "You'll Know It Was Me", the EP takes listeners through a visceral experience that is as emotionally potent as it is sonically crushing. Each track tells a unique story, unraveling different shades of love, whether through resilience, heartbreak, or obsession.
The EP kicks off with "Heart of Darkness," a relentless opening, setting the tone for the record’s visceral intensity. A perfect storm of piercing screams, crushing riffs, and a foreboding atmosphere, the track embodies the torment of internal struggle, resentment, and ultimate detachment. Lyrically, it’s a scathing rejection of deception and past betrayals. Lines like "The wider the smile, the deeper the lie every time" and "You are nothing but a betrayer" drip with bitterness, painting a picture of someone who has endured manipulation but refuses to be fooled again. The repeated command—"Tell me now what you want to hear. What you want to say."—carries an almost mocking tone, a final confrontation before shutting the door for good. Yet, the track doesn’t just dwell on anger; it also explores personal liberation. The shift from "I’m drenched in loathing memory" to "In my escape, I found peace I never knew" hints at a transformation, an emergence from the wreckage. Musically, the song’s aggressive pacing mirrors this emotional turbulence. Guttural vocals tear through the mix, riding atop waves of dense, churning instrumentation that refuses to relent. The dynamic shifts between chaos and eerie stillness heighten the tension, keeping listeners on edge. As the song barrels toward its crushing finale, the repeated refrain "I don’t hear a single fucking thing" solidifies its message—this isn’t just anger; it’s absolute severance. If this track is any indication, the record is poised to be a relentless, emotionally charged journey through the darkest corners of the human experience.
"One Hand Wrapped Around The Sun" is a brutal and unrelenting exploration of severance, betrayal, and emotional finality. With cutting lyricism and visceral imagery, the song captures the moment when resentment turns to apathy—when the pain of a fractured relationship hardens into pure detachment. The opening lines, "Hold your tongue, don’t speak. Temper the heart. A fool’s quest to start," set the stage for a song steeped in controlled fury. The tension builds as the lyrics paint a picture of someone being cast away, their presence no longer welcome. The striking imagery of "Ascend to the sky. Cut off your wings. I’ll watch you die a marionette with no strings" is particularly ruthless, evoking a sense of absolute power over the subject—no longer a puppet, but something discarded entirely. Instrumentally, the song moves between haunting melancholy and crushing heaviness, reflecting the push and pull of lingering emotions and ultimate closure. The climax hits with full force, driving home the song’s final statement: "Forget you exist." It’s not just a breakup or a farewell—it’s an erasure. It doesn’t dwell on sorrow; instead, it embraces the cold satisfaction of letting go. If the instrumentals inject a sense of longing, it could bridge the gap between rage and regret. But as it stands, this track is a raw, uncompromising anthem of cutting ties and never looking back.
Ahead of the EP’s debut, Church Tongue unleashed their most ferocious track yet, "When It Betrays," featuring none other than Colin Young of Twitching Tongues and God’s Hate. With this blistering single, the band further cements their reputation for unrelenting aggression, raw emotion, and sonic intensity. A raw confrontation of personal demons and self-redemption, "When It Betrays" is as visceral as it is cathartic. Mike Sugars lays bare his struggles with addiction and the arduous road to sobriety, while Young’s guest vocals inject an unrelenting fury that amplifies the track’s already towering intensity, delivering a devastating verse that references Twitching Tongues' "Feed Your Disease," a nod that longtime fans will appreciate. Sugars highlights this as a defining lyric of the track, a testament to his journey of self-discovery and perseverance. The opening lines—"I’ve shed my skin. It betrays, it calls my bluff."—set the stage for a relentless war within, as the lyrics navigate cycles of destruction and the desperate fight to break free. Themes of self-liberation and defiance surge through lines like "I reject my infection. A curse, a familiar deception."—a battle cry against relapse and self-sabotage. Musically, the song is a full-force onslaught. Pummeling instrumentals and urgent energy make for an unrelenting listening experience, mirroring the song’s themes of turmoil and resilience. The punishing riffs and breakneck drumming never let up, while the vocal interplay between Sugars and Young creates a dynamic tension that feels like a struggle between past and present selves. The climactic refrain—"My flesh fails me. Old blood ignites again."—delivers a haunting reminder of how difficult it is to outrun the past.
"The Fury of Love" is a hypnotic, chaotic descent into emotional turmoil, embodying the volatile nature of passion—where devotion and destruction blur into one. Featuring Crystal Pak’s piercing screams in a Converge-inspired crescendo, the track is both sonically and emotionally relentless, balancing raw aggression with haunting introspection. Lyrically, the song explores grief, sacrifice, and the weight of generational pain. The opening lines—"I will dream or I will damn, of building graves or barricades."—set the stage for a struggle between hope and despair, between breaking free and succumbing to fate. As the song unfolds, it weaves in devastating imagery: "Wash the shame from my mother’s hands." and "I’ll bear your weight if you can’t stand."—lines that speak to an overwhelming sense of duty and love, no matter the personal cost. The climax delivers one of the EP’s most gut-wrenching moments: "No angels wept when my brother and I tried to beg you for your life."—a harrowing line that lingers long after the song fades. The long, brooding buildup pays homage to post-hardcore and noise influences, slowly coiling tension before detonating into an unrelenting cathartic release. Pak’s vocal performance heightens the intensity, channeling raw anguish and conviction that push the track to its emotional breaking point. The swirling chaos of the instrumentation mirrors the turmoil within the lyrics, making "The Fury of Love" one of the EP’s most gripping and emotionally devastating moments.
A deeply emotional composition, "Bury Me (One Thousand Times)" encapsulates the torment of love that refuses to die, with its melancholic melodies weaving through gut-punching breakdowns, reflecting the pain of cyclical heartache. The track navigates the rawness of grief and devotion, with lyrics like "Surrender myself as it swallows me whole," capturing an unyielding surrender to loss, while "Loss cuts like a knife. Your beaming torch, our guiding light" underscores the weight of memory. The music mirrors the emotional depth, building through suffocating atmospheres into moments of cathartic release. Church Tongue masterfully balances vulnerability with crushing heaviness, offering a desperate plea for closure with a refusal to let go. "Bury Me (One Thousand Times)" stands as a powerful anthem of grief, resilience, and love's lasting imprint.
Closing the EP on a haunting note, the title track featuring George Clarke of Deafheaven is an unsettling yet beautiful declaration of undying love. The song’s eerie ambiance, combined with Clarke’s chilling vocal delivery, creates an atmosphere of spectral devotion. The lyrics tell a story of love so intense that it transcends life itself, manifesting as an eternal presence that lingers even in death. As the final notes fade, "You'll Know It Was Me" leaves listeners with an overwhelming sense of emotional weight, cementing the EP as a profound and unforgettable experience.
Musically, You'll Know It Was Me is a relentless onslaught of metallic hardcore, taking cues from bands like Converge and Twitching Tongues. Tracks like "Heart of Darkness" and "One Hand Wrapped Around the Sun" showcase the band’s ability to blend melody with sheer brutality, crafting a listening experience that is as emotionally harrowing as it is sonically punishing. The EP was recorded with longtime collaborator Greg Thomas and Chris Teti at Silver Bullet Studios, ensuring that every crushing breakdown and every tortured scream is delivered with surgical precision.
With You'll Know It Was Me, Church Tongue reaffirms their place as one of the most compelling forces in heavy music today. Combining deeply personal lyricism with an unyielding sonic assault, this EP is a testament to the power of love—whether that love is self-destructive, redemptive, or eternal. Fans of the band and the genre alike should prepare for one of the most visceral releases of 2025.
"it’s such a cliché to say, but this is the rawest form of ourselves that we can put into music... it’s important to write the kind of music that you want to write. If people like it, that’s great, but as long as we like it, that’s all that matters.” - Nicko Calderon
Beyond the studio, Church Tongue is taking their new material on the road, hitting select Midwest cities to celebrate the EP’s release. Fans can catch them in intimate, high-energy settings, an environment that perfectly complements their visceral sound.
CHURCH TONGUE / Midwest Tour Dates:
- 2/13 - Peoria, IL @ East Bluff Community Center
- 2/14 - Indianapolis, IN @ Healer
- 2/15 - Columbus, OH @ Half Baked
- 2/16 - Evansville, IN @ Damsel Brew Pub
You'll Know It Was Me is more than just another heavy release—it’s an emotionally charged manifesto of love, pain, and perseverance. Brutal yet deeply personal, this EP marks Church Tongue as a band not only willing to push their sonic boundaries, but also embrace raw, unfiltered emotion.
