Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Gnaw Their Tongues - Reeking Pained and Shuddering (2007)

For a while it was looking like my review of “Reeking Pained and Shuddering” was going the same way of 2020’s “I Speak the Truth…” in terms of me struggling to actually articulate any individual standout parts.  As with that later release, the 2007 offering is upon first listen a chaotic and often unsettling affair, but on this particular ride that unsettling nature is delivered beyond just the maelstrom of sounds that we are presented with.  To these ears, “Reeking…” presents with a lot more control and conscious effort to disturb the listener with some good old fashioned atmospherics and samples.

Look past the scathing vocals and clatter and clashes of industrial influence and you will hear a cinematic dark ambience to this record.  I had to make a rare excursion into using my headphones to truly appreciate the qualities on show here (something which my ears will suffer for today I am sure).  The time taken, sat in a dark hotel room with no external distractions to take my focus off the stimulation my ears where receiving gave me the chance to track the proper structures that sit in amongst the torrent of terror of most tracks.  These consistent elements seem to take the form of droning atmospheres that provide a dense foundation layer to the tracks.

The samples from various horror films and other macabre sources, work well and add depth to what could otherwise be barren soundscapes in terms of a perceived human touch.  Ranging from the dramatic to the downright weird, they offer snapshots of madness into an already demented routine.  Here again though is where I struggle a bit with the record.  There is a lot going on and so if you are looking for memorability, those snippets that you hold onto, subconsciously or otherwise, then you are going to struggle here.  For me, there would be no dialling down of the extremity if a few less ideas made it onto the record as the consistent parts develop an environment all of their own.  This is still a good record though, albeit one that I would not consciously be drawn back to on a regular basis.  I am coming to view Gnaw Their Tongue releases as occasional jolts to the system to remind me that the blueprint of structures can be torn up and form can be sacrificed for all out expression of the true turmoil within some artists.