T.O.O.H. - Order And Punishment   

No order. Just punishing and chaotic...and good!

Slightly eccentric Czech grind merchants !T.O.O.H.!, whose name actually means The Obliteration of Humanity, signed with Elitist Records (who up until they closed their doors late in 2005 were linked with Earache Records) in early 2004 prior to entering the studio later that year to record their third album. After making an impression with their sophomore effort, Pod Vládou Bice (which translates to Under The Reign Of The Whip) from 2003, the time was nigh for vocalist Humanoid, guitarist Wokis, bassist Freedom and drummer Schizoid to create their all important third release.

Frantic, technical, disjoint yet cohesive - those words could describe the album as a whole but they best describe the expressive opening cut, Al-Amin (Aneb Jak Vycakat Jelito) as it exposes you to the unsuspecting off kilter chaos that is !T.O.O.H.!. The flat out pace of the likes of Analyza Zahnedy with its death metal parts throughout (in particular the guitar solos) and Konec Kontinentalniho Kontejneru show a strong System Of A Down vibe throughout before the quartet shift once more back towards a more of a death metal influence with Hanicka - Pribeh Nebozacky.

With touches of Dillinger Escape Plan like chaos fused with metal and jazz overtones, both Abu-Hassan and Rad A Trest (which translates to the album's title) showcase the band's complex and elaborate guitar work and a feel that isn't too dissimilar to that created by the album's opening track Al-Amin. Ja Samaritan is a transitional track with its effective onslaught of tech-cross-death metal which is followed Padaji, Piskaji which is fairly straightforward death metal with a twist. To Je Jizda Bozinku shifts over to a more straight forward and relentlessly furious pace before the album's closer and longest track, Kali, once again displays !T.O.O.H.!'s crazy jazz-tipped tech metal with some tidy building dynamics throughout.

There's a lot going on throughout !T.O.O.H.!'s latest effort Order And Punishment. From the chaos of Dillinger Escape Plan and System Of A Down mixed with blast beats and death metal riffs, runs and vocals, this is what !T.O.O.H.! is all about. This challenging slab of metal with a more than a few twists and turns along the way is worth the time it takes for the three or maybe four listens that it'll take for you to get hooked on it. It worked for me.

(Elitist Records/Earache Records/Shock Distribution)