TOCstock is coming and we are buzzing. What better way to get hyped for our epic alternative shindig than with a killer playlist of absolute bangers? We hit up Severed Tongues to curate one.
These masters of melodic metalcore － one third of the ferocious metal triumvirate who'll be tearing up the TOCstock stage next month － have pulled together a savage selection of tracks guaranteed to get your juices flowing.
For your aural pleasure, guitarist Connor Rhodes, drummer Joe Bartlett, and frontman Will Hagan have hand-picked the songs that shaped their sound, fuel their fire, and still get them primed before a show.
Big love to Connor, Joe, and Will for doing this.
Severed Tongues | Connor Rhodes, Will Hagan, Joe Bartlett
If you’re counting down the days to TOCstock － not long now! － this untamed tracklist, packed with soaring hooks, filthy breakdowns, and lashings of Spiritbox, will put you firmly in the mood.
Tickets for TOCstock are FREE and going fast. Grab yours now and get ready to experience Severed Tongues live at Also Known As, Banbury, on 10 October 2025. They’ll be joined by sludgy alt metal titans Sleemo and － back for one night only － legendary destructive hardcore quadruplet MSRY.
Is that a night you really want to miss?
Now sit back, strap in, crack a can, and crank up the volume as Severed Tongues spill their beans, share their memories, and stimulate your lugholes.
For double kicks, unapologetic brutality, and checking out but never leaving, read on!
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1. ‘Eat You Alive’ by Limp Bizkit
WILL － Results May Vary was one of the first metal albums I owned. My mum bought me the CD when it came out, back in 2003. I listened to it on repeat. I’ve actually still got it.
CONNOR － I have fond memories of this one, touring the North Coast 500 with my fiancée. We had only known each other for three months at the time, but we decided to embark on a nine-day road trip together. I must have played ‘Granite’ about a hundred times during those nine days.
Luckily, my fiancée loves Sleep Token too − possibly from me playing it so much.
JOE － Eternal Blue was an album that I listened to on repeat when it came out, which is not something I do that often. That album is pretty formative for Severed Tongues.
Picking one song from it is tough, but I love the unapologetic brutality of ‘Holy Roller’ － which is shown right through to the production stage, where Dan Braunstein used saturation to add distortion over the whole track.
WILL － A super pumpy track. It has an upbeat feel and just makes you want to dance and sing along. I’ve had this track on repeat ever since it came out. Marcus Bridge is such an insane vocalist and the chorus really shows this off.
CONNOR － This is another one of those tracks where you just can't help but sing along. My fiancée and I were vibing to this whilst painting our house.
6. 'Boiled Frogs' by Alexisonfire
JOE － Alexisonfire is a band that I would be constantly playing when I was in my early teens. It was one of the bands that brought my focus more to heavier vocal styles. ‘Boiled Frogs’ is just such a good song － and fun to play too.
7. ‘Circle With Me’ by Spiritbox
WILL － There are so many songs on Eternal Blue that I’d put on this list, but I’d probably say ‘Circle With Me’ is my favourite. Perfect track from start to end.
Spiritbox are a major influence for us. Every single member of the band is insanely talented. Seeing and hearing what they do just pushes us to progress.
8. ‘Hotel California’ by Eagles
CONNOR － This is one of the greatest songs ever written. I love that it tells a story. Playing it on Guitar Hero at Christmas with my family is a core memory.
JOE － All Hope Is Gone is an album that hooked me in, not just because it’s a good album, but because, at the time, I was trying to work on double kicks. Joey Jordison's drumming was ahead of its time.
That album has lots of fast-paced, long double kick sections that were perfect for me to practice to. I ended up growing a fondness for the album as a whole, but ‘Sulfur’ in particular as that was my favourite song to play along to. It’s still something I play to now.
10. ‘Her Wings’ by Holding Absence
WILL － I first heard about Holding Absence when they dropped ‘Afterlife’ and I’ve followed them ever since. I absolutely love the chorus to this track. I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve listened to it.
11. ‘Cypher’ by Northlane
CONNOR － My siblings and I were listening to this on our way to Thorpe Park for our littlest sister’s birthday. I remember my brother asking me "What does it mean?" At the time I had no clue either, but I watched The Matrix for the first time shortly thereafter and it all made sense.
12. ‘The Bad Thing’ by Periphery
JOE － Periphery have to be on my list. I have a soft spot for this song especially. I tend to lean towards darker sounding riffs when writing. This definitely has that feel, while still being heavy and melodic.
Matt Halpern is a phenomenal drummer and a big influence on me.
13. ‘God Of Fire’ by Fit For A King, featuring Ryo Kinoshita
WILL － This is the track that taught me how to do low screams. I was practicing vocals along to some music. When I put this track on, it kind of just naturally clicked with me.
14. ‘Ultraviolet’ by Spiritbox
CONNOR － Like Will said, Eternal Blue is banger central. When they released The Fear Of Fear, I slept on it originally; it didn’t quite hit as hard as Eternal Blue. I was converted by my fiancée playing it on repeat while we were holidaying in the Lake District.
15. ‘Gone With The Wind’ by Architects
JOE － Architects are another big influence for the whole band. I had to include them on this list. ‘Gone With The Wind’ is a great and special song.
When you listen to the drums in Architects’ songs, Dan Searle is always doing something you’d not naturally think of. That challenges me to change up how I play, to come up with new ideas.
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▶︎ Tickets for TOCstock are available now. Get yours here.
MSRY: It Was Never Supposed To Be Forever