Connect with Twitching Tongues
Listen to Twitching Tongues
The hardcore scene is one that, while having roots that date back a few decades, continues to grow and expand quite modestly...especially within the US. With countless bands that take on the genre and make it their own thing by blending it with aspects of heavy metal, the modern hardcore elements have much to offer in terms of substance. Twitching Tongues is one of those incarnations hailing from California that is actively making a mark in the community through their mixture of hardcore, hard rock, and stoner metal. Since roughly 2010, the band has released several offerings including four full length albums. And this week, they are unveiling their latest work onto the world. Let's see how it is.
Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred serves as the fourth full length album release from Twitching Tongues. This 38 minute album consisting of nine tracks will be released via Metal Blade Records and features a return of the vocals and instrumentals that we've come to know. This time around, the five-piece has taken on a slightly more political route in their songwriting and lyricism.
This album has a lot of interesting and attention-grabbing riffs in it, some of which make you want to mosh and headbang until your head falls off. Other times, the riffage takes a backseat in favor of slow paced droning accompanied by the signature T-T vocals. The hardcore aspects in this album, such as in the release's later tracks (with "The Sound of Pain" being arguably my fave song on here), are pretty engaging and solid when they're present, which makes me want to hear more of them. The themes are pretty cool to hear as well, with the production quality also being formidable for the music at hand. In all, I enjoyed the instrumental aspects more.
While the vocals on here are somewhat unique for the genre as well as fitting and nostalgic at times, they still feel a bit off or out of place a lot of the time. I wish there were more hardcore-esque vocals a la the ones on tracks such as "Gaining Purpose" and "The Sound of Pain". Additionally, there also could've been more hardcore tracks or elements used in general.
In general, the new release from Twitching Tongues is a rather unorthodox one that is kind of difficult to put your finger on. The band juggles a few different genres throughout and even mixes them up a lot of the time as well, which is good for the sake of innovation. However, there seems as though there is also a bit of an identity crisis taking place in between the twists and turns, with the band trying to find their true sound. As a closing statement, though, I still recommend giving this one at least one listen for its message as well as for its abstract qualities.
Fave Tracks: "AWOL (State of The Union)", "Gaining Purpose", "The Sound of Pain"
**This release will be out on March 9th, 2018 at Metal Blade Records!**
-----------------
Support your fave artists and musicians!
-Review by: Dave Raffy
Musician, reviewer, fan & promoter
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with others to help us grow. You can also like and follow us on the social media of your choice with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon.