Formed in 2020 the first release of this Polish outfit was their ‘Prophecy’ demo out in early 2022, a release as hideous as any you’re likely to hear in death metal as the band unveils their debut full length. All those who love their death metal infested with rancidity should be reading on as these Poles are as grotesque and ugly as anything the genre has to offer. ‘Misanthropy Within Transcendence’ starts the album with a chaotic explosion of fetid slime filled ferocity. The band’s chaotic oppressiveness will have you think about Incantation and occasionally Immolation as their plunging grisly sonic abominations are cavernous and horrifying.

‘Forsaken Entity’ follows the opener and here you will be sending your mind to Morbid Angel, ‘Covenant’ era, as the slow pervasive and grisly guitar work with haunting guitar hooks that drift in like a ghoul. The low end on this album is crushingly effective, with very little treble so to speak except on the snare sound and occasional hook that is blended in, preferring the miasmic sludge filled revulsion as demonstrated on ‘In Perversity Premonition’ which was released as a single. I cannot overstate how oppressive this album is, as the slowness of the tune feels like it is encasing you in tar and slowly but surely squashing the life out of you especially with the speed surges.

The title track is up next and again they opt for the slow dirge like terror as the vocals plummet into abyssal tones that few in death metal can match and whilst I can’t decipher the lyrics luckily I have the CD and booklet to check out what was being said, being the usual nihilistic dark gruesomeness. ‘The Infernal Travelings’ is utterly dismal, in a good way, its rotten festering guitar work sinks the tune into an atramentous doom-death style that reminded me of Desolate Shrine especially with the ridiculously low vocal tone. Monstrous and pulverising ‘Into Ether Decay’ is slightly shorter infesting the listener with that sense of controlled chaos as the song’s repugnant aura is matched by the onslaught of speed before switching out for ‘Depths Of Nothingness’ and returning to the slower tempos, reeking of ominousness and guttural melody.

‘Psychological’ has an isolated guitar riff that is heavily like a fucked up Black Sabbath on their ‘Masters Of Reality’ album, using that measured slow riffing style to conjure up intensity before the riff break and matching the double kick patterns with the riff to great effect. The twanging bass lines are something that thread through this release but more noticeably here as the band use the grating abrasive guitar riffing to saw you in half before the closing bonus track ‘Synthetic Perplexity’ finishes you off. Again they prefer to unleash a lone guitar riff to craft the palpable fear and sinister ethos as the song gradually intensifies with escalating speed done very subtly as the smothering bass work flattens you leaving you gasping for breath.

A fine debut from Poland’s Toughness one that fans of old school deathly filth should be looking at particularly if acts like Blood Incantation, Demilich and early Convulse are something you enjoy subjecting yourself to on a regular basis.

(8/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/ToughnessOfficialPL

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-prophetic-dawn