Somewhere in the vast expanse of the cosmos lies a small corner of darkness that’s rarely acknowledged because it keeps to itself for the most part and only comes towards the grand stage of it all. It happens quite rarely, but when it does occur the little pocket of nothingness conjures up a piece of haunting music that flows throughout eternity, and few beings pick up on this music. Tongues is a group that spawned from that pocket and it has flown through cosmic dust into my ears, and there’s no going back from this tantalizing sweet offering we’re given.

This is one of those bands that only a scant few have heard of for the simple fact that Tongues only has one EP to their name before now, and even though it was quite an enjoyable piece of extreme metal it’s hard to judge a band simply because of one promising EP. Now, though, with the upcoming release for Tongues’ foray into the full-length territory, and it’s something else to behold. I’ve heard of and seen bands try to combine the styles of black, death, and doom metal into one record to go for something that’s viciously heavy of great intensity, but it’s Tongues with “Hreilia” that are one of the few to truly pull it off. While the three styles are clearly shown off with this record, Tongues shifts from one to the other with the songs getting longer as “Hreilia” goes on, the heaviness coming in and out for dramatic purposes, and a general sense of intensity that never once leaves the scene of what this band has crafted. “Hreilia” stands as a wondrously varied piece of metal as Tongues goes all over the board with this seven-track album to really show us what they’re capable of with such a gruesome album that incorporates heaviness with true vision and talent tossed together with tinges of atmosphere and psychedelia to make this record a trip the likes of which we don’t get often at all.

Any doubt about the talent that’s behind Tongues that’s been had up to this point can be sufficiently silenced with the release of this album. “Hreilia” is a unique album by all standards and anyone who’s willing to go into the dark realm that Tongues went to in order to make this creation will find themselves not wanting to leave once they’ve gotten a glimpse of the glory that is this album.

“Hreilia” releases on December 8th I, Voidhanger Records!

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