The second full-length from TOUGHNESS, “Black Respite Of Oblivion,” sounds less an album and more an act of abomination. Released through Godz Ov War Productions, this nine track album hits all formats: digital, CD, vinyl and cassette, just waiting for someone to press play. The band has members of CONVEYOR, so they have been doing music for more than a decade now, even when TOUGHNESS has been rolling around just for five years or so. If you listened to TOUGHNESS’ previous album, “The Prophetic Dawn” (2022), you’ll know they sound rotting, evil and right into the flesh. Well, here, with “Black Respite Of Oblivion”, the band is offering something unspeakable, and it’s here to be heard. ‘Abominating The Scourge’, the first track, opens like a portal, an unstable machine of evilness. And of course Bartek Domański’s vocals immediately trap you and make you feel familiar with a sound like this one. I have to admit that this “jazzy” guitar kind of in the middle of the song, was something I didn’t expect at all due to the wave the track had displayed. And even though I’m not very good at combining Metal with Jazz or any other music (not sure if that’s exactly what they wanted to express), it still sounded very interesting. TOUGHNESS has a foot in the abstract. You can hear it in the title track, ‘Black Respite Of Oblivion’, where melody and dissonance bleed into each other, leaving you unsure whether you’re coming or going. It’s hypnotic and harrowing at the same time. Next up, is this 17 words title track ‘The Profanity That Creates An Expression Of Pain At The Impossibility Of Ascending To The Lower Realms’, a suffocating and predatory piece of rhythm, almost ritualistic, ancient. It’s an exhausting listen perhaps, but that’s what it is. And I’ll play to finish ‘Open Wounds Of The Forgotten Planet’, my favorite track of the album. It reminded me of MORBID ANGEL’s kind of intro somewhere to move to its own planet. This track is my favorite, also because it appeared to me like the one in which they sounded more “traditional” Death Metal instead of this predominant technical style that I’m not very good at to be honest. In fact, that’s my only distance with the band and with the album, that is mostly delimited by that more technical side of the coin. I’m more conservative when it comes to the style, but I must say without trembling that TOUGHNESS is a tremendous band. In the end, “Black Respite Of Oblivion” cements TOUGHNESS as a band that refuses to stay in one place. It’s brutal, sure. Technical, definitely. But more than anything, it’s compelling. They’re not just playing Death Metal, I think they’re pulling it apart and stitching it back together into something feral and new. And if this is where they are on their second album, there’s no telling how deep the next abomination will go. Check them out! www.facebook.com/toughnessofficialpl, www.facebook.com/godzovwarproductions