Gnaw Their Tongues – ‘The Cessation of Suffering’ (album premiere)

Easily one of the most prolific artists in the extreme music domain, Mories returns with the project that defined him. Gnaw Their Tongues have been a towering force that trespasses through the bleakness of black metal, the cold detachment of industrial, and the electrifying force of noise and power electronics. With an origin traced back to the early 2000s, Gnaw Their Tongues have been a pivotal force in expanding the boundaries of the metal domain, alongside acts like the Body and Axis of Perdition.

While Mories has been active with Cadaver Shrine and Dodenbezweerder, releasing full-length albums with both in 2023, this is one of the longer breaks between Gnaw Their Tongues records. As Mories explains, “I needed a break from the project. I just felt I wanted to do different projects first. I needed some time to figure out what I wanted to do with Gnaw Their Tongues after I Speak the Truth, Yet With Every Word Uttered, Thousands Die.“

This period of abstention from Gnaw Their Tongues has been pivotal for redefining the project’s direction. The resulting offering, The Cessation of Suffering, descends deep into the experimental, but in doing so, it sheds away most of its black metal past. This is natural for Mories as he suggests, “I would say the black metal element has disappeared completely. I have lots of other projects where I can satisfy those needs. Gnaw Their Tongues is much more based in the here and now instead of the typical black metal spheres of satanism and esoteric/occult worlds.”

This suggestion of The Cessation of Suffering being a record anchored in the “here and now” is fundamental to Mories’s approach. While Gnaw Their Tongues, even to their namesake, are derived from Biblical texts, Mories is adamant that “the state of the world is my main source for inspiration these days”. Throughout the years, Gnaw Their Tongues have displayed a sense of nihilism and loathing towards humanity, an opinion that has evolved through the years. While in 2015, Mories stated that he has moved from disgust to disappointment for humanity, he now suggests that he has “become even more somber about the state of the world. People seem to have lost their minds. People seem to be stuck in their tunnel vision. Nobody wants a dialogue anymore. Nobody hears the arguments of other people anymore. People just seem to vomit their opinions and ‘truths’ on social media. Ah well… people, right?”

This return to the earlier nihilism is also central to The Cessation of Suffering. Its bleak characteristic echoes through the chants of “Dreamless”, as a dark veil is set upon the listener. The complete deconstruction of the instrumentation, coupled with the abandonment of black metal methodologies, has resulted in a looser narrative, a harsh sonic tapestry. This ties into Mories’s worldview, suggesting that “The newest album, indeed more than ever, is mostly constructed out of sounds. There are still musical elements, but the harshness has taken over. I felt this album needed to be an extra punch in the gut. We live in difficult times. This album needed to sound this way. There was not much of a process. I searched, programmed, and mangled sounds until they sounded harsh enough for my ears.”

The result is brutal and terrifying, and it is our immense pleasure to premiere The Cessation of Suffering in full ahead of its release date (24th November) through Consouling Sounds.