Over the last years, I came across quite a lot of fine bands and albums from Poland, coming from nearly all sub-genres of extreme music. Thus I was quite curious to discover what GOŁOLEDŹ (translates as “Black Ice”) from Zielona Góra have to offer. This four piece is around for not even two years and released their first album late last year. And this self-titled album really hits my nerve as I really dig fine Black Metal and good Crust and D-Beat stuff. GOŁOLEDŹ combines these styles in a very unique and elaborate way. Aggressive beats and vocals meet the basic guitar harmonies typical for Black Metal. Yet it is not only a simple rage of anger as GOŁOLEDŹ adds atmospheric breaks to their mainly rather long songs that often remind me of the legendary British Post-Metal / Sludge act FALL OF EFRAFA. The opening ‘Sam Na Zawsze’ (in English: ‘Alone Forever’) already shows all the qualities of the band. But also the quite gloomy ‘Najgorsza Kara’ (‘Worst Punishment’) and the atmospheric ‘Wolność Umysłu’ (‘Freedom Of Mind’) are really outstanding songs. And these are just the highlights of an astonishing album. GOŁOLEDŹ is a band that should be a joy to everyone who digs great extreme stuff. Visit www.facebook.com/gololedx or www.facebook.com/ironfistproductions1