If you like your metal heavy, your hooks catchy, and your riffs hard-hitting, you’re in for a treat. We’ve just heard 'Fragments' the new EP by Severed Tongues. It’s good!
One of the best things about working at TEN OF CLUBS is that, as well as sharing the music we love with you, we also get to share it with each other. It was our Jess who first introduced us to Severed Tongues. She saw the band play at The Wheatsheaf, one of our favourite Banbury watering holes, and was fulsome in her praise. Now we’ve heard the EP we understand why.
‘Fragments’ is an impressive debut. An exemplar of modern British metal, the 5-track EP showcases the breadth of Severed Tongues’ musicality and influences.
Opening track ‘Artificial Misery’ calls to mind Spiritbox, complete with Gojira scapes, while breakout track ‘Dead Space’ feels more like 'Holy Hell'-era Architects. 'Dead Space' also happens to be our favourite track on the EP, which probably isn't surprising given we all dig Architects.
Hailing from our home county of Oxfordshire, and on the scene since 2019, Severed Tongues is Connor Rhodes on guitar, Will Hagan out front on vocals, and Joe Bartlett on drums. The guys have honed their skills and established a formidable reputation locally, by gigging hard in venues great and small.
Recognition is spreading, with ‘Dead Space’ featured as track of the week on Alyx Holcombe’s BBC Radio 1 rock show. Wanting to know more, we got in touch.
Drummer Joe Bartlett very kindly made time for a quick chat with us about the band, songwriting, the creative process, and more. For bopping heads, releasing bangers, and nothing off the table, read on!
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Hello Joe. Please tell us about Severed Tongues.
JOE BARTLETT － Severed Tongues was established properly in 2019. We focus on creating tracks with catchy hooks and ambient sounds, but also that feature rhythms that you can bop your head to.
Will is our front man and vocalist, Connor is our guitarist, and I’m our drummer. We all connected via mutual friends and the local music scene.
Which track do you feel best encapsulates what Severed Tongues is about?
‘Dead Space’ has to be our favourite of the tracks we've released. That’s the track we are using as our benchmark for new material.
It's a damn fine track! Tell us more.
Ah, thanks! The track is about how small we are in the universe. It’s a reminder to bring yourself back to reality and ground your thoughts.
The original idea was one that Connor came up with. We then worked on it as a band to develop it further.
Is that typically how you write your songs?
Yeah, we all collaborate on the songwriting and the pre-production process. We feel like every band member is a part of the formula when writing music. We also self-record all of our parts at our home studios. When writing, nothing is off the table. Our creative process is very open and anything goes.
Generally we write initial demos individually. We map out the instrumentals using MIDI so that we can easily collaborate on ideas together. When one of us writes a track or collection of parts, it gets shared with the rest of the band to see how to progress it.
Once the instrumentals are finalised we then write the lyrics while having further group writing sessions. After that, final parts are recorded and then we work through final production elements before sending it to our producer.
Tell us about your first gig as Severed Tongues.
Our first gig was at The Library in Oxford in 2019. It was a packed, intimate gig and the energy was really good. We were supporting another local band called MSRY.
It was a bit nerve-racking as it was our first gig. We weren’t expecting the turnout we got.
We know MSRY. Great band. Have you had any gigs that didn't go so well?
The worst gig experience we’ve had was one where we arrived but didn’t get to play! We weren’t given enough time to set up on stage. The show times were running late and it was taken out of our set time.
The sound tech wasn’t cooperative. We got halfway through a very rushed and reduced stage setup and then we were told we only had 15 minutes left of our set.
But we did get some band photos from that day, which were used for our EP release, and we had a really nice lunch in a nearby pub, so it wasn’t all bad.
Every cloud… What’s been your biggest highlight so far?
Having both ‘Artificial Misery’ and ‘Dead Space’ played on BBC Radio 1. Having ‘Dead Space’ as the track of the week was really cool and rewarding for us.
A taste of things to come. Do you have a favourite track to perform live?
‘Artificial Misery’ is our favourite track to play. It’s full of energy. It’s definitely our heaviest track. Great for mosh pits!
What’s the best thing about band life?
The creative process. Working together to come up with something we’re proud of. Creating and releasing bangers for people to enjoy.
And what’s the worst thing?
Everything now revolves around social media, which can be quite cumbersome, especially as a small artist where we’re doing everything ourselves. But we do think it’s a great tool to share our music with new listeners, and to show people who we are.
Who are your musical heroes?
As a band, our main influences are Spiritbox, Architects, and Northlane. We listen to a lot of other bands, but these are fairly constant in our influences.
Give us three albums everyone should own.
- ‘Eternal Blue’ by Spiritbox
- ‘All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us’ by Architects
- ‘Hybrid Theory’ by Linkin Park
If you could be in any band at any time, not including Severed Tongues, which would it be?
Limp Bizkit playing Woodstock 1999. That would have been insane! Plus, Fred Durst is cool AF.
What advice do you have for someone starting out in music?
When you’re writing, you should do it because you enjoy it. And nothing is off the table or a bad idea.
Good and open communication with your band members is also key.
What’s the best way to start the day?
Caffeine and a positive mindset. Every day, try something new… like listening to our new EP!
How do you like to relax?
Good food, gaming, exploring new places.
Imagine you’re on Death Row. What are you having for your last meal?
For me, it’s anything from Mildred’s in Camden. It’s the best vegan restaurant.
Will would have lasagne. Connor, probably Vietnamese pho.
On that delicious note, let's wrap up. Thanks for your time, Joe.
Thanks. It’s really nice to see support for local bands coming from a clothing brand.
Cheers, dude. What’s next for Severed Tongues?
We’re currently working on new material, which we are really excited about. We feel like this new material will show our definitive sound.
We can’t wait. Thanks again. Any final words?
Thank you to everyone who has checked out the songs from our new EP.
We appreciate everyone who has added ‘Fragments’ to their playlist and shared it with others.
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▶︎ 'Fragments' by Severed Tongues is streaming now on Spotify, Apple Music and elsewhere.
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