Mories, the sole figure at the heart of
Gnaw Their Tongues, had already made his general approach clear on earlier records -- the sound of collapsing factories, Wagnerian bombast, sheer rage, and general anti-easy listening all under the guise of metal as such. With
All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity, the next step wasn't obvious per se but still works nonetheless -- record a sex album. Admittedly, it's not that far removed at all from albums beforehand, but titling pieces "My Orifices Await Ravaging," "The Stench of Dead Horses on My Breath and the Vile of Existence in My Hands," and "The Gnostic Ritual Consumption of Semen as Embodiment of Wounds Teared in the Soul" helps make certain images clear in one's head, however much one might not want them. All the trappings aside (including some pretty harsh cover art),
All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity is in many ways just that, dreadfully magnificent in its arrangements of sheer sonic overload, sculpted to be an opera-of-sorts in a black pit. However unsettling -- or even just ridiculously goofy -- some of Mories' imagery is in the end, it's still a headcleaner of a listen, with the swells of feedback becoming sheer noise overload that doesn't even sound like it belongs to guitar at points. At this point one may never need more than one
Gnaw Their Tongues album, but it's a well-done, if off-putting, approach. ~ Ned Raggett