If you know hardcore music and this blog, then you probably also know of Church Tongue. These guys first entered my radar in a real way a few years ago when I woke up to a text from a certain Jeff Stuckel. It read something like the following
“Hey Ryan, Church Tongue has a video that’s about to go viral. Caleb Shomo already shared it. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case you wanted to use it for the blog.”
That video, of course, was the clip of Chris “Critch” Sawicki setting himself on fire in a kitchen at a house show, where they shared a bill with Beartooth. Later, at a show at Double Happiness someone would yell out “if someone doesn’t set himself on fire I’m leaving!” Frontman Michael Sugars would give a matter of fact nod before moving on from the gimmicky comment to let the performance speak for itself.
Hell is Empty proves that Church Tongue doesn’t need any more gimmicks to stand out. There’s something visceral about their overall sound that makes me, a very casual hardcore fan, sit up and take notice. My mind keeps flashing back to an Audiofeed performance where Nicko Calderon (guitarist) ended their set by screaming desperately into his amp. Everything that made me love this band initially is amplified on Hell Is Empty. The production is top notch. The guitars in particular have a clean, warm tone that makes me think “epic!” It’s adrenaline inducing, emotional, visceral, and makes you unable to decide whether you’re being punched in the face or carried into a land of loud introspection.
No matter what faith background you have, a title like Hell is Empty is provocative. As a Christian I definitely reacted. I love talking about theology just about as much as music (surprise!), and now I have the urge to sit with Sugars and dissect the whole album. I haven’t done that yet, so instead I’m going to react to a few lines that particularly impacted me.
In “I Am Obsessed With Myself” Sugars roars “Speak not my name / and let me die twice.” There’s a saying in the world that people die twice—first when they physically perish and second when they are forgotten for the final time. As a Christian I find myself linking this line to my past demons. How often do I find myself reminiscing about the things that haunt me, that in reality are no longer a part of my identity? I could stop revisiting them so that my demons finally die (twice), but I keep on doing it. Why?
In “The Guilt of You” I find myself identifying with the most straightforward line in the song; “I cannot control myself when I’m with you.” There are temptations I seek to overcome, but when I give in I lose all self-control.
In “Forged By” I’m most intrigued by this line: “I cannot save / or sanctify / no love, no light / left to despair.” To whom is the subject of the song referring? Again, as a Christian I feel like it could be referring to anything that offers false hope or comfort, but I can’t be sure. We’ve all had things we thought would help us but only hurt us, that’s for sure.
“The Craving” begins “Craving the sun, as I walk in the shadows. I fail myself.” I’m starting to see a theme here. Sugars seems to be meditating on human nature to keep seeking things we know are bad for us even though we crave what’s good.
“Heaven’s Gate,” I’m told, is about cults and religious extremism. In that context the line “We smite each other for the sake of vanity” is particularly compelling. How many times do we love on others only when it’s convenient for us or for our group, only to throw that person under the bus for personal gain? Did we ever really love that person? In the age where social media rules all, we should all be asking ourselves that question.
“Hell is Empty” is a song of hope. I recently had a conversation with someone about my faith and they asked me in conversation “but what bad things have you possibly done?” when I was talking about the comfort I found in my faith from my demons and past. The response of many when they might see this album title is that this band is preaching a message of universal salvation. Many, including myself, have an instinctive reaction to push back against that. However, I don’t necessarily think that’s what Church Tongue is getting at here. The full line is “Hell is Empty, and I Am Full.” Finding salvation, which is the ultimate rest from the demons mentioned in most of this EP, means that one less person is doomed to despair. Therefore, Hell is (a bit more) empty, and I am full with the comfort and rest we all are seeking at the end of the day.
So yeah. Mull on that for a bit. Or, just rage to your heart’s content to these nasty riffs. Oh, and one last thing, thank you to Blood and Ink Records for ghosting my friends after all the free PR Tuned Up gave you over the years. I hope you have a good reason. It gave our other friends at Delayed Gratification Records a chance to live up their name—the wait paid off!
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