Review: !T.O.O.H.! – Po ovoci poznáte je

Artwork by: Humanoid

Style: Avant-garde Metal, Technical Death Metal, Electronic (Mixed Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Igorrr, Cattle Decapitation, Cryptopsy, Gorguts
Country: Czechia
Release date: 29 August 2025

Sometimes, you can make an assertion about a piece of art within seconds, maybe a few minutes, of engaging with it. Normally I’d be one to argue against such snap judgment calls, but I’d also be lying if I haven’t had to push myself past the barrier of gut instincts in order to fully engage with something. After all, maybe that unfocused movie hits a stride and locks you in, allowing you to appreciate or at least ignore the shaky beginnings. Or those cartoony dungeon synths and monotonous vocals eventually coalesce into a formula that finally Philosopher Stone’s you into transmuting that leaden opinion into a golden one. I’m no stranger to being proven wrong. And when it comes to art, I often welcome such corrective awakenings.

However, after marathoning two-man Czech outfit !T.O.O.H.!’s latest album, Po ovoci poznáte je (By Their Fruits You Will Know Them)¹, on repeat, suffice to say no alchemy would be capable of reshaping my initial reaction seconds after pressing play on opener “Cimi! Cimi! Cimi!.” Which was something to the effect of: “Not for me.” Don’t get me wrong, I love corny 80s synths, buzzy guitar work, and VGM vibes same as the next avant-garde tech deathgrind-loving gamer metalhead, but the line between “novelty” and “necessary”² tends to be a wide one, in my estimation. Sadly, Po ovoci poznáte je struggles to land on either side of the divide. Let’s look at why.

Playing like the avant-garde / tech death soundtrack to a speedrun of Bowser’s Castle, one might expect Po ovoci poznáte je to be a reasonably entertaining listen. Lockstep-tight blast beats and bouncy tom work (performed acoustically, no less; a first in twenty years), and manic, jittery synth work dominate much of the album’s sonic makeup, with the guitar largely filling a textural role as it grinds and thrums across much of the runtime. Occasionally, guitarist/vocalist Humanoid pulls out some fun flourishes and tech-y leads (“Po ovoci poznáte je,” “Fetka Milda a černý dilda,” “Vypátrat Šudka ezozmrda neboli Perzekutor tupých tváří”) but much of his playing is relegated to a white noise buzz that’s easy to lose track of amidst the wash of Schizoid’s militant drumming, the uncorked synths, and Humanoid’s own vocals. Delivered entirely in the Czech language, the messages and themes of Po ovoci poznáte je are lost on my sadly monolingual ears. Regardless, I can’t imagine a deep lyrical dive would change my assessment.

Humanoid does not growl or even sing, so much as he simply shouts at the listener in largely arhythmic bursts. The music is thus left in the awkward position of trying to match the measure of his whims, creating stilted patches of disagreeable sound that overpower whatever !T.O.O.H.! is doing musically in those moments. When the band is careening through purely musical passages, or like on the instrumental “Po ovoci poznáte je,” there’s often flickers of entertaining VGM synths to munch on, or some of the aforementioned flourish from the guitar. Likewise, when the drums aren’t blastbeating their way incessantly into your skull (with the occasional doom-da-doom from the toms), they kick up some interest with little fills or differing grooves. But, even these elements are hard to parse out, let alone offer up as solid listening recommendations, as Po ovoci poznáte je’s tracklist reaches a point of monotony that invokes listener dissociation. The title track hits like a bucket of cold water, marking the first time on the album I was able to feel !T.O.O.H.!’s music winning me over. Being the penultimate track, however, these sparks of attachment proved too little, too late; even listening again with an awakened ear, I found myself irretrievably pulled beneath waves of apathy on every subsequent listen.

And that’s the biggest nail in the coffin of my time with Po ovoci poznáte je: I just couldn’t connect with what was going on. I like fun synths; I dig zany extreme metal; I don’t even mind indecipherable lyrics—Igorrr’s Savage Sinusoid was a repeat listen for a time. But despite trafficking in “extreme metal as confrontation, composition as exploration,” the album felt neither confrontational nor exploratory. Confrontation implies a certain inevitable magnetism; exploration, a sense of mystery. Po ovoci poznáte je neither drew me in nor had me longing to dig deeper. Long-time !T.O.O.H.!ers may find this latest crop delectable, but as a newcomer, I can’t recommend taking a bite of this fruit.

Recommended tracks: Po ovoci poznáte je
You may also like: Frore 5 Four, Evelyn, Blastanus, Infester, Demilich, Contrastic
Final verdict: 4/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Official Website | Facebook | Metal-Archives

Label: Lavadome Productions – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

!T.O.O.H.! is:
– Schizoid (drums, backing vocals)
– Humanoid (bass, guitars, vocals, programming)

1.  Translation according to the Bandcamp promo, here. ↩︎
2. Subjectively speaking, all art is necessary to someone, even if it’s only the person making it. ↩︎