From the name, you can guess that Tear Out the Heart (TOTH) won’t be opening for One Direction on their next Stateside tour.
At the same time, beyond the stereotypical shrieked dirty vocal affectation, speed riffs, double-clutched drumming (via Matt Epstein’s blurred hands and feet) and thunderous chugs and breakdowns (courtesy of intertwined guitarists Josh Spohr and Matthieu Murphy), the St. Louis quintet offers considerably more diversity than the standard Deathcore/Metalcore outfit, with elements of Pop melodicism and instrumental subtlety leavening the genre’s signature sonic density and lyrical desolation.
Surprisingly, given their sophisticated sound and approach, Tear Out the Heart is coming up on just their third anniversary as a band.
Coalescing in 2011, TOTH quickly self-released their eponymous debut EP mere months after their formation, following up with Hell is Empty in 2012.
Both EPs generated a good deal of fan and industry interest, resulting in the band’s contract with Victory Records, Chicago’s renowned name-your-core label with a roster including A Day to Remember, Between the Buried and Me and Funeral for a Friend.
Last March saw the release of Violence, produced by Beartooth/Attack Attack! vocalist Caleb Shomo, who also contributed vocals to “Undead Anthem.”
Power bassist Isaac Etter’s clean vocals exhibit an almost Emo Pop clarity and fragility while dirty vocalist Tyler Konersman’s gutteral howl provides a brutal Metalcore counterpoint that punctuates the structural differences between the two singers’ roles.
Tear Out the Heart’s soundscape is further differentiated with atypical piano and synth filigrees, and while these style tweaks might be off-putting to Metalcore purists, they’re creating an expansive new sound that could bring new fans to the fold.
