Toughness – Black Respite of Oblivion

Toughness is a band from Poland comprised of four relatively young and unmistakably ambitious musicians; Bartosz Domański (guitars & vocals), Łukasz Wójtowicz (guitars), Ziemowit Chalciński (bass) and Maciej Gransztof (drums). Their second-full length, released by Gods Ov War Productions, is called Black Respite of Oblivion. According to themselves, it’s a piece of ‘intransigent death metal paying homage to the old school while adding a bit of personal flavor’.

Tracklist:

1. Abominating The Scourge
2. The Profanity That Creates An Expression Of Pain At The Impossibility Of Ascending To The Lower Realms
3. Black Respite Of Oblivion
4. Embrace Blackness
5. Carrion Entrails (Lost Abyssal Disbelief)
6. Condemned To Noxious Persistence
7. From The Shroud Of Human Disgrace
8. Open Wounds Of The Forgotten Planet
9. Vile Unrelenting Miscreancy

Black Respite of Oblivion is a progressive, technical, brutal and mind altering album! In other words; technical and progressive death metal doesn’t get any better than this; and the only thing I’ll suggest is to keep on evolving and adjust the vocals, making them more clean so it better fits the superb instrumental lines. It’s not often that we put an emphasis and pay further attention on the bass, but I’ll make an exception here, as the bass work here is absolutely incredible and unique, with each note hitting you hard. Thus, the bass is complex and with independent lines that create a heavy foundation for every track.

Lyrically, Toughness writes some disturbing sci-fi and cosmic lyrics that are very interesting if you take the time to let it all have an impact on you. My favourite songs from Black Respite of Oblivion are “The Profanity That Creates an Expression of Pain at the Impossibility of Ascending to the Lower Realms” (as guest on the vocals here is Will Smith of Artifical Brain, Afterbirth and Reeking Aura), and self-titled “Black Respite of Oblivion”, because both songs show a band that is more confident and maturing its musical ideas since the release of their 2022 debut, The Prophetic Dawn.

With the release of their sophomore nine-tracker Black Respite of Oblivion I feel as they’ve managed to create an overwhelming and unpredictable sonic experience that pushes boundaries and embraces brutality, yet retains a cohesive structure and intensity that listeners can appreciate. The very good and hilarious cover artwork is created by Turkka Rantanen, while Haldor Grunberg (he worked on the recordings, mixing and mastering) and the band itself shared the responsibility to produce the album. It resulted in a clean yet impactful sound, where they managed to create a delicate balance between technicality and brutality, giving off that authentic early 90s feeling.

Especially recommended for worshippers of the old-school death metal and the likes of Death, Atheist, Cynic, Zyklon, Immolation, Morbid Angel etc. For further info visit their bandcamp here.