Photo by Perri Leigh

Artist: Church Tongue, the five-piece of vocalist Mike Sugars, guitarist Nicko Calderon, guitarist Chris Sawicki, bassist Jack Sipes and drummer Kyle Spinell

Location: Indianapolis, IN

Buzz: The subject of love can give way to the heaviest of sounds if you apply the right intensity to it. Church Tongue are of that kind of relentless intensity on their new EP, You’ll Know It Was Me. Just don’t expect this one to be a love story in the traditionalist sense. Since 2015, the the Indianapolis quintet — which features Knocked Loose guitarist Nicko Calderon behind one of its smashing axes — have been cannibalizing the human experience into devastating schisms , beginning with their 2018 debut album, Hell Is Empty, and later, their 2021 extended play, The Hubris of Gods. Their latest six-song listen levels up in unleashing the inner monster by rendering love of all things in the most brutalist lights.

Vocalist Mike Sugars is a force of terror, and behind him, damaging riffs and guttural metallic blast beats pound a nightmare scenario into even the most ideal cases, causing you to wonder if the oft-epitomized of human feelings is even worth approaching given the terror which awaits from its depths and many dimensions. What differentiates Church Tongue from being a mere force of sonic destruction for the sake of, however, is in how they stretch the listen’s narrative across its fleeting presence.

In pulling in familiar voices from adjacent scenes — the demonic growl of Twitching Tongue’s Colin Young on “When It Betrays”, Initiate’s Chrystal Pak in flames on “The Fury of Love”, and the scorched aftermath of Deafheaven’s George Clarke on its title track — there’s a story being told here about love from a very different perspective beyond the euphoric and heartache, though both are touched upon. This is the kind of love that can bleed you out dry and absolutely bury you, if you dare invite it into your life. It’s worth it, but just be prepared for it to wreck your life…

Sound: A metalcore ascension that arrives at the gates of Heaven, only for them to open into a wall of flames and drag you down into the bowels of Hell.

Recommended: The Fury of Love”, “Bury Me (One Thousand Times)”, and “You’ll Know It Was Me” from their newly released EP, You’ll Know It Was Me

Church Tongue’s You’ll Know It Was Me is available now on Pure Noise Records.