T.O.O.H. - Po ovoci poznáte je CD

Po ovoci poznáte je (“By Their Fruits You Will Know Them”) is the new, sixth full-length, album by Czech band !T.O.O.H.!, following up on 2020’s Free Speech.

Po ovoci poznáte je doesn’t aim to be accessible per se — yet it is, after numerous listens. It aims to be true — to the artists, their language, and their creative instincts — and so it is. It doesn’t aim to sound modern or extreme. It just follows the band’s internal method, which has always worked on its own logic.

This is extreme music as confrontation, composition as exploration. Ten songs as a result of focused, in-depth writing and unrepeatable genius on display — something that !T.O.O.H.! has always abounded with.

With the release of the new album, Czech progressive deathgrind innovators !T.O.O.H.! are once again pushing forward their craft. The new album continues on the path established by 2020’s comeback album Free Speech. For the first time since 2005’s Order and Punishment LP, the album makes use of acoustic drums — and that’s where it just begins...

Po ovoci poznáte je is again technical, progressive, and as abrasive as it is eclectic, reaching into broader territory both structurally and harmonically. The melodic progressions, multi-layered harmonies, or just bursting-out melodies from seemingly nowhere have undergone major evolution and mark a noticeable shift as they impress, adding extra momentum to the material.

Across the album’s ten tracks, where most songs run nearly four minutes or longer, there’s more space for the aforementioned structure and detail, and the material feels more expansive than ever before. The music has evolved into complex and challenging heights, but with a clearer sense of contrast — direct passages, slowed-down rhythms, and layered harmonic sections didn’t have as prominent a space in earlier work and have never been executed in such captivating ways.

Synths and leads now carry real weight and have become an integral part of the music. The return of acoustic drums also changes the album’s physicality. There’s a stronger sense of movement and a more dynamic response within the structure of every song.

To quote the band’s guitarist, Humanoid:
“Expect massive clusters of tones, lots of rapid drum-beats, but also direct, mid-tempo passages. I’m using my usual compositional techniques: various chromatic and diatonic progressions, classical, ecclesiastical, folk and exotic scales, multi-voice passages, complex harmonies, and electronics that are placed into the music deliberately.”

!T.O.O.H.!’s trademark lyricism is on full display. The band continues to confront society’s ugliest contradictions head-on, laced with satire and poetic density, aimed straight at the absurdities of the current days: religious dogma, hate, inner psychosis, and societal decay — all handled with biting Czech-language satire and cerebral intensity.

Po ovoci poznáte je is simply where the band has landed — on their own terms, without the need to fit in or explain. The music is complex because it has to be, and expressive in a way that feels earned rather than styled. No shortcuts. No nostalgia. Just the next chapter in an extraordinary story that began in 1993.

By Their Fruits You Will Know Them.