Band:	Dark Sermon
Album:	In Tongues
Style:	Death metal, Deathcore
Release date:	March 2013

01. The Shepherd's Staff
02. Imperfect Contrition
03. Hounds
04. The Scales Of Justice
05. Cursed
06. Forfeit I: The Crooked Quill
07. Forfeit II: Worn Thin
08. The Tree Of New Life
09. Carcass
10. Testament
11. In Tongues

Your OSDM dealer is in the neighbourhood, come get your fix!

But by OSDM, I mean Old School Deathcore Metal. Yes I totally made that up and yes I totally tricked you into opening a review for a deathcore album. Does it make it better if I say that it's deathcore for folks who don't like deathcore? Yes it does, you stayed.

In Tongues is these guys' first stab at a full-length, and it doesn't even feel like a début. Dark Sermon are the kind of people who like to dip their biscuits in tea and stuff. I personally hate that, but when the biscuit is made of rather classic early '00s Swedish inspired DM, who am I to disagree when it's dipped in a cup of dirty deathcore? Fortunately for you, deathcorophobe idiots friends, Dark Sermon don't achieve brutality by torturing their instruments, breaking the song structures unnecessarily or ridiculously down-tuning their guitars. Instead the guitar tones are clear and high, both melodic and technical solos appear here and there to confuse the kvltkid, and the tempo drops are well placed.

The blending of the two genres is so complete you'd imagine the biscuit would be saggy by now. You'd be wrong, as even with such a mix of techniques, In Tongues remains crunchy, tasty, and most importantly homogeneous. It remains thus, despite having a couple surprising moments - which I wouldn't want to describe so as not to spoil the fun - that just make you go "oh" and break the monotony. However, I could push my analysis a bit further and mention a few minor negative points, but the overall result, the genuine energy that transpires, and the fresh take on two stagnating styles are enough to make me want to concentrate on the positive side of the cookie.

Dark Sermon are releasing a new album in 2015, and I wanted you to have this review as a little amuse-bouche. Have a free sample, your trve internet cred isn't at risk: