Toughness - Black Respite Of Oblivion

Toughness are another Polish band signed to Godz ov War’s label that emerged from the start of the Covid era in 2020 and delivered their debut back in 2022 of some catchy Old School Death Metal with lots of groove and solos to boot. While retaining a bit of the low end and guttural side among the likes of Immolation and Morbid Angel, despite tracks of rumbling heaviness there is also a bit of technical groove to the drums especially and bass, lending some influence from earlier Cryptopsy. On their previous effort the sound was very steeped in distortion and sounded more like Incantation than anything, but here with their second effort, “Black Respite Of Oblivion,” the respite is from the haze and clearer production leads to almost a sort of Sepultura styled groove in the mix with a focus on bass, drums, and vocals. In short, if one likes the more sludgy, mid paced styled Death Metal in the vein of Disloyal or even the bounce of Beyond Creation, then this band is worth checking out. 

While some might have liked the Undeath and Vital Remains style old school touches with everything being fuzzy guitars and cavernous vocals alongside eerie synth moments, the biggest success that Toughness have brought in shedding its rougher skin is the bass performance from Ziemowit Chalciński. In the past it was buried in the guitars but on tracks like the opening ‘Abominating the Scourge’ and ‘Condemned to Noxious Persistence’ it rings clear, catchy, and again very Tech Death styled in the vein of Cynic or Beyond Creation. The guitars are still ever present from Bartek Domański and Łukasz Wójtowicz as they make their solos melodic among the lumbering chugs like on their debut, but with more melody adds more modern flair as the band shapes themselves as opposed to imitating their influences, and on tracks like ‘Carrion Entrails’ the solos certainly stand out the most, especially when layered with the drums from the newly added Maciej Gransztof whose Vital Remains styled drums as opposed to the Incantation heavy plods of the debut record ring with more force. The big fun of this track though has to be the ‘get up and jump’ riffs that are somewhat repetitive, but in a good way. Sometimes for Toughness the repetitive nature of the guitar passages get in the way such as on ‘Open Wounds of the Forgotten Planet’ as it sounds more like the basic Old School Death Metal lumbering sound they started with while the clink of the drums rings the technical elements back in as the bass seems to have given up. Indeed if one is longing for the older sound, then this track is a fine example that Toughness have not forgotten their roots and won’t be evolving into Wormed anytime soon.

Vocally, Bartek Domański still sounds like he gutturally burps his vocals, but not in the Brutal Slam way. Thanks to the production his voice still sounds strong but isn’t as in the front as on their previous record, but right in the middle along everything else (save the bass which when it can be heard really seems ‘up front’). His style of mid paced grunts isn’t as fast as say Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse or barking like David Vincent from Morbid Angel but a steady delivery that knows when the pause here and there like Ross Dolan of Immolation meets John of Incantation style vocals. It fits the overall Old School style for the band very well and on a track like ‘Vile Unrelenting Miscreancy’ just bellows with no mercy but also shows restraint to let the instruments do their thing and shine like on ‘Embrace Blackness.’ Some bands like Behemoth are very vocal focused and sometimes those vocals take away from the rest of the album, but Toughness do not do that.

Overall fans are going to be impressed by the ‘step up’ that Toughness have brought to “Black Respite Of Oblivion.” While some of the tracks might be a mouthful to say and the sound still rooted in mostly Immolation style without too much variation to really separate them, the big draw will be within the middle of the song when it comes to the bass or guitar solos. Sure the drums and vocals carry the song as a whole, but compared to the murk of the riffs and vocals of the first album, this one is going to be a pleasant surprise when those catchy bass lines drop in among the fog of distortion. “Black Respite Of Oblivion” is a modernized touch of OSDM that doesn’t spit at the roots of the genre but rather adds a little extra to give it that ‘oopmh’ that makes it more enjoyable to hear. Kind of like when Rivers of Nihil injected saxophone into their work so they didn’t just sound like another Allegaeon, Toughness’s more technical nods shows they are growing in spades and becoming bigger and better with each release.

4 / 5 STARS