Order and Punishment

So, my experience with !T.O.O.H.!, which I will just call TOOH for the rest of this review, is kind of odd. I don't really remember buying this album. I kind of always just owned it and I'm not sure when I got it. I would turn it on here and there when I wanted some absurd sounding death metal in the background of whatever it was I was doing. I never looked up the lyrics and rarely paid any attention to this band in depth. I sort of know their history with Earache, but anything else was never brought to my attention. I recently wanted to sit down and write out my thoughts on my entire metal collection. TOOH is on the top of my list and what I listened to was pretty bizarre.

First of all, I do want to say that this band fucking shreds on instrumentals and vocals. The drumming and bass is all so prominent. You can appreciate the complexity in every song. For example, "To Je Jizda Bozinku" is a beautiful tune and one of my personal highlights. The final two minutes doesn't have any vocals and you can just sit there and soak in the raw talent. There is a lot to appreciate on this album as a whole, to the point where it's difficult to concentrate. Every musician is playing their ass off and to focus on one over the other is a mistake. Also, this album is not in English. So, I had to look up an English translation while trying to appreciate everything. It honestly will take a few listens to form a proper opinion. I do have to say that I wish I never looked up what the lyrics actually meant.

Never in a million years I would think this album would have the lyrical content that it has. It's filled with really dark humor and rape scenarios. The English translation I looked up had lyrics like,

"I'll fuck this rotten asses!
I'll cum on your bald heats!
God himself, is my reward:
I am samaritan"

and

"and be sure thats gonna hurt
just like my name is Abu-Hassan
I'll hang that little piggy on hooks ...

I already got a boner"

I obviously wasn't ready for that. I looked up a few different translations and it seems to all be the same. It's pretty hilarious, but at the same time kind of takes away from the instrumentals. Maybe it's because I listened to this album so much that I had this perceived notion of what this band was saying. The vocals are pretty out there, so I guess it matches that in a way. The singer really shrieks and growls his ass off. It's really fun in that aspect, but the lyrics I wouldn't bother with.

Overall, I really like this album, but the lyrics really take away that initial charm I had. If you want to get into this album because you heard so much about it, then I would recommend doing so without looking up the lyrics. I'm usually down for that dark humor and vulgar writing, but not here for some reason. The instrumentals really draw you in and will keep you hooked throughout the entire run time. It's solid from front to back.

Recs: "Al-Amin (Aneb Jak Vycakat Jelito)", "Konec Kontinentalniho Kontejneru", and "To Je Jizda Bozinku"

My interest in !T.O.O.H.! was the result of fanatic love of Cattle Decapitation and all of its (later) albums. The distinct genre they played, listed as progressive death-grind caught my attention and led me to search for similar artists in the genre: !T.O.O.H.!. What I heard was a complete different listening experience, for better or for mediocrity.

The songs on this album are either stand out hits, or nothing memorable, coming from someone writing this review shortly after listening to the album. About only 3 songs on the album stood out to me, solely based on the riffs: Al-Amin, Rad A Trest, and Kali. The other instrumentation doesn't lend to these songs in the slightest, aside from some slight variation in the vocals.

The vocal shrieking is has extreme personality and identity, but comes off as goofy, and novel. Whether or not this was on purpose, I don't know, but considering the lyrical themes, i think not. Though I do admire, the fact the band wrote in the lyric booklet what each song is about, considering the lyrics are written and performed in Czech.

The production is admirably clean with audible bass guitar (something i always appreciate) and a snappy sounding and tight drumming, however i was not impressed with the constant blast beats consistently boring me. The guitar and riffs are considerably strong on this album and the best part of it, ESPECIALLY on Rad A Trest, my favorite track overall on the album.

I only picked up this album, because i saw it in my local record shop, and recognized the band name. Do i regret it? No, but does it hold up to the death-grind name? Not to me, as this album leans more to the progressive side of metal, while still have some death-grind moments with the vocal style time to time. If this was the final album, that would be totally acceptable, but i hope !T.O.O.H.! slays it with their upcoming in the works. I'll probably buys it, but this album doesn't sell me on the band completely.

Since their 1999 debut, the Czech Republic's !T.O.O.H.! have successfully performed a balancing act between surrealist art and carnival music, but with Order and Punishment, !T.O.O.H.!'s latest (and final) release, the band seems to have finally lost its footing, falling off the tight rope and crashing into the ground with no safety net to spare them from fatal injury.

The first major misstep comes in the new production style, which ditches the gritty, claustrophobic feel of the first two albums in favor of a cleaner, more "modern" approach, complete with weightless triggered bass and an annoying woodpecker snare. But beyond the superficial details, what really throws this album off track is the shift towards a compositional style that includes more hooks, more bounce and more big-top melodies, which sees the band leaving behind the dissonant counterpoint of the first two albums in favor of grindcore-tinted Iron Maiden worship.

Like a court jester's outfit, this album attempts to patch together a wild assortment of shapes and colors into a single, coherent outfit but ultimately ends up looking like the type of fool whom no one of high artistic standing would bother taking seriously.

No surprise that this album (as well as failures from bands like The Chasm and Decapitated) ultimately lead to the destruction of Earache's Wicked World and Elitist subsidiaries.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was going to experience listening to this album for the first time. !T.O.O.H.! play a unique blend of progressive wankery backed by intense grind, with a good dose of truly bizarre vocals thrown in for good measure. Sadly, this was to be their last album before their split, caused mainly by their record company, Earache. However, it's safe to say they went out with a bang, as this is a perfect note to end their musical career on.

From the very beginning, you can hear that you're onto something a bit special. The first track, Al Amin (Aneb Jak Vycakat Jelito), begins with a demonic growl, and then breaks straight into some technical and brutal guitar and drumwork. And then the vocals kick in. They're strange to say the least, and first time through, I was really hoping that they wouldn't ruin the rest of the CD for me. However, I've since grown to love them. They fit with the style of music perfectly; the element of insanity about the vocal style just fits with the technical onslaught of the music. The "marmite effect" will apply here. You'll either love or hate the vocals. There are some parts where the vocals are just perfect though. The screaming and chanting at the beginning (and mid points) of Konec Kontinentalniho Kontejneru is great, and is a good example of how the insanity of the vocals compliments the intensity of the other instruments.

The next thing that strikes me about this band is the bass work. The bass seems to be a pretty overlooked instrument in most genres of music, so bands who utilise it to full effect always sound that extra bit special to me. !T.O.O.H.! go above and beyond what most bands can ever hope to achieve with the bass. The technicality of it all is astounding, yet they still manage to make it tie in perfectly with the drum and guitar parts.

The drum work throughout the album is very well done. It's a driving force of the music, the technicality and precision of it all is truly impressive. Schizoid manages to remain aggressive while still not missing a beat, and he blasts out some incredible beats throughout the album.

Finally, I come to the guitar work on the album. What can I say? It's just breathtaking. The riffs are all great, and the benefits of having two guitarists can really be heard with the way in which they've layered guitar parts to great effect. Short solos intertwine with brutal riffs throughout, and the end result is amazing. Now to the matter of the solos. Although no one solo is that long, they're all incredible, especially the solo at the end of Kali. I really couldn't think of any better way to end such a superb release.

There are only two things that sadden me about this album. Firstly, it's only a woeful 35 minutes long, and really does leave you craving for more. That brings me nicely onto my second problem, this is their last ever release, so never again will I hear such innovation from this group of brilliant musicians. Nevertheless, as I've previously said, this is the perfect way for them to end their career. Thank you and goodbye !T.O.O.H.!, may your music go down in Death Metal history.

"Rad A Trest" ~ !T.O.O.H.!

Out of all the music one could listen to from 2006, this is one little gem that seems to stand out, yet not really have that much attention. "Rad A Trest" is an album by a band named !T.O.O.H.!, short for "The Obliteration Of Humanity." The band is from the Czech Republic and play a very...odd type of technical death metal, blending grind, progressive elements, and an all around bizarre attitude. After the release of this album, the band would split up due to problems caused by their record label, which is sad because I would have loved to heard more from this band. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end...at least !T.O.O.H.!'s ending is a happy one.

From the very moment you start to listen to this CD and hear the almost demon inspired dog like growl, you can almost guarantee yourself that this album will be brutal and worth the listen. At first, I was put off of the album for one major reason: the vocals. When I first heard the vocals, I couldn't believe it. I thought they had totally killed the experience of the music. But as I listened to the CD more and more, the vocals grew on me. In all actuality, the vocals are very hard to get used to, but if you end up liking them, you may agree in saying that the spastic quality of them and their high pitch go along well with the music. You have no idea where he can go with the idea of his vocals. Some screams are chilling, and others are just wacky. The vocals almost make it seem as if he is going insane, which just add to the oddness of this band.

The drum work truly stands out on this album. The drumming is very tight and always seems to be a tempo keeper, seeming to never miss a beat at all. Usually, the drums work in a formula in which they hit hard at the beginning of a song and continue to be a driving force throughout all of the songs. You try to keep up with him and he seems to just hit drums out of nowhere, throwing the listener off track at times, always keeping the drum work and the music fresh.

A very key instrument on this album is the bass. Not only is the bass audible, something not very common, but it is very intricate. At times there are bass solos which just make you wonder if a guitar solo can counteract it. The bass is very driving, almost more driving then the drums. Freedom is an amazing bass player, and some of the bass lines are just breathtaking, especially on songs like Al-Amin, Hanicka Pribeh Nebozacky, and Kali. The bass is probably some of my favorite work on the album.

And who could forget the guitar work? Everything about the guitars is amazing. The riffs to the solos, you couldn't ask for better guitar work on an album like this. Songs like Al-Amin, Konec Kontinentalniho Kontejneru, and Kali have amazing guitar work. The solo in Al-Amin is almost like bliss, and as FromHlidskjalf has already stated an opinion on, the riff and solo at the end of Kali is one of the most emotional and passionate, and ends the CD and the career of this band in a perfect way.

I would love to one day maybe see a return of !T.O.O.H.! But part of me doesn't want them to come back, for the simple fact that after having made an album like this, there seems no way to surpass it. The band left in one of the most positive ways imaginable, releasing an album that could not only be considered an Album Of The Year, but and album that could be considered a Death Metal classic.

!T.O.O.H.!, in my opinion, is one of those once-in-a-generation bands that truly bring something innovative to their genre. Of course, when your genre is the pretty strange technical death / grind metal genre, it is really hard to stand out. But somehow, this band managed to bring something completely fresh with just two albums under their belt. Sadly, label problems derailed this promising band, but before they split, they presented us with their parting gift, Rad a Trest.

From the little intro on Al Amin, you know that this album is going to be far out. And it is. I think the first thing to notice about this release is...it's very well produced! Pod Vladou Bice had some pretty meh production, but this sounds cleaner, the drums much more polished, the riffs more defined. And thanks to this production, the brilliance of this band is in full showcase. The drumming is just amazing, going into different time signatures throughout each song without missing a single step, while the guitar riffs just keep coming from different angles, and with some pretty sweet harmonies and solos (the damn riff to Konec Kontinentalniho Kontejneru, with the little solos tacked on it, is just amazingly sexy), and Schizoid's vocals being just completely whacked out from extreme left field. And for those bass fans out there, there are some pretty kick ass bass lines in this album, most notably on Hanicka - Pribeh Nebozacky. And the weirdness doesn't stop there. At the end of Abu-Hassan, they go into this noisy ambient piece which totally slays man! Each song flows so well, you won't realize when the album actually ended, you will be so entertained.

Unfortunately, this album is terribly short (35 minutes), and it leaves you wanting more from these brilliant musicians, but sadly, they are not a collective group anymore, but Rad a Trest is definitely the best parting gift a band such as this could have left their fans. Thank you dudes.

Damn you Earache. You really messed up by causing !T.O.O.H.! those financial problems and you ended up destroying the band and now they are no more. Which is too bad, since !T.O.O.H.! went out with a HUGE bang and this might even be the best release of 2006 (it was released in January over here in America). There's still a lot of great stuff coming out this year, but it will be extremely tough to top this release.

This stuff truly isn't the norm, with out-of-this-world vocals by Humanoid and insane guitar riffs, topped with tight drumming by other Veselý brother Schizoid and audible bass (Freedom is a great bass player and was a worthy addition). It's a great combination and prevents the songs from getting old because there's something new and fresh everytime. The riffs are all incredible and unique. They seem to find that perfect spot in death metal where the leads are awesome and feel melodic without losing their brutality or turning into melo-death. Track 1, Al-Amín (Aneb Jak Vycákat Jelito), is a great example of this. After the spoken word and inhuman growls, we get treated with some amazing riffs throughout the entire song. Others that prove this well are Rád A Trest and Analýza Záhnìdy. !T.O.O.H.! also do an excellent job of layering guitar solos over riffs to create orgasms through music. This is the benefit you have when you have two guitarists, and both Humanoid and Wokis are excellent guitarists. It sounds flawless, especially when they pull off bass solos as well. The solos are never long, but they still kick ass (songs like Kálí come to mind).

Some of my all-time favorite moments on the CD: The "chorus" on Konec Kontinentálního Kontejneru is great. The simple ambient type parts at the end of Abu-Hassan and Rád A Trest. The changes in the crazy vocals from high to some low parts that fit perfectly. The riff build up at 1:36 on Rád A Trest before going into this beautiful at 1:55. It blows me away. And finally, the final song Kálí. WOW! What a way to end a band. Not going out with a whimper like most bands that end up disbanding. The riffs are all breathtaking; they're brutal and melodic in a perfect way. The vocals are damn great just like in every other track. All instruments are played at a high intensity. The song builds up and up until finally it reaches 3:03 and Humanoid lets out a final yell of a single Czech word before the greatest riff ever comes in. THE GREATEST EVER. Dead serious. What a fucking climax. The riff repeats until the end of the song, and there would be no better way to end your career then this. I've listened to this song over 30 times since I've had the CD. The guitar solo at 3:21 is one of the best I've ever heard. It's so heartfelt and fits along with the riff perfectly. Then a bass solo comes in for a little while and just totally slays! It doesn't get much better. Then the guitar comes back along with it and finally ends up soloing until going into its own riff at 4:22 until the end of the song. Simply beautiful and the biggest climax I've ever heard, it's simply beyond words, much like the whole CD itself. Highly recommended, along with the rest of !T.O.O.H.!'s discography. Goodbye !T.O.O.H.!, you'll be forever missed.