After a prolonged silence, !T.O.O.H! resurfaces with Po ovoci poznáte je, an album that drives deeper into the band’s fractured and abrasive identity. The Czech group has never conformed to conventional metal aesthetics, and this new record doubles down on that deliberate refusal to play it safe. Compositions interlock through asymmetrical structures where distorted guitars and screamed vocals collide with walls of organized noise, creating sustained tension throughout.
Sound and Production: Noise as Material
The deliberately rough production prioritizes the raw impact of jagged riffs and thick drum strikes. No smoothing, no cosmetic concessions: you hear every scrape, every feedback squeal, every string friction. This approach embraces the band’s noise-metal heritage, rejecting the sterile clarity of contemporary polish. Guitars rumble low and crushing, while the voice navigates between disjointed screams and ragged declamation. The album breathes little, enclosing rather than opening.
Highlights and Shortcomings
Po ovoci poznáte je hits hardest when !T.O.O.H! channels chaos into recognizable riffs, catchy despite their harshness. Certain passages break from the murk to offer memorable motifs, proving that experimentation needn’t exclude presence. Yet redundancy creeps in: after forty minutes, the formula (saturation plus deconstruction) loops without resolution. Some sequences sag, as if the band were testing limits without knowing where to push. !T.O.O.H! delivers an honest record here, faithful to its corrosive and largely inaccessible approach. It’s metal for those seeking thoughtful hostility, not spectacle. Coherence never falters, but overall impact remains fragmentary. Solid work that confirms the band inhabits its own universe, even if it costs them ears along the way.
