Interview with death metal band from Poland - TOUGHNESS.
Answered Bartek (Guitars, Vocals), thank you!
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Recenze/review - TOUGHNESS - The Prophetic Dawn (2022):
Ave TOUGHNESS! Greetings to the Polish underground. I hope everything is fine with you. It should be because this year you have released a first full-length album in your band's career. I have to admit it has literally blown my mind. It is dark, energic and as if it cuts by the sharp edge of the knife. I can hear from the record you did a really good job and you added a big portion of the talent, too. How do you perceive the new album in comparison to the previous one? Where did you want to move and in what are these two records different?
Bart: Hi, everything’s fine, thanks. We are very exicted about Toughness‘ debut album and that we got to the Godz Ov War Productions - this is a truly special moment in our activity. From the album under the Conveyor name, I perceive The Prophetic Dawn as a huge improvement. In Toughness we wanted to record something more rhythmic, brutal and gloomy, in the spirit of 90s death metal. Of course, there are patterns that contain non-obvious technique, bass solos and entangled atmosphere. However, the main differences between The Prophetic Dawn and An Incarnated Abstraction are that The Prophetic Dawn is more thoughtful, has better orginality and has much more interesting arraging of inspirations.
“The Prophetic Dawn“ includes all attributes of good death metal. For me personally, it represents the record, which I really like to listen to. How did you produce it? How look the writing process of new material in the case of TOUGHNESS?
B: We produced it through classic death metal settings, without unnecessary fiddling. I mean, all of guitars used one effect and setting, bass two (one clean, second with distortion) and we set up the drums in the studio in the style we play every day in our rehearsal room. The Prophetic Dawn was composed surprisingly without haste, because in the years 2020-2021, when there were no live gigs. We created this material on the mutual rehearsal, wanting to show extraordinary death metal which is difficult to classify unequivocally.
I found out that Łukasz Suszko is signed under the mix and mastering of the new record. I have to confirm that the sound is literally killing. It still makes me add volume to the player. Łukasz has created a sound that is cruel, raw and at the same time dark and organic. How went the work with him and why did you choose him? In which studio did you record it? How did the recording process look like?
B: The work on The Prophetic Dawn was quite fast, because we had this material perfectly prepared in rehearsals. Mixing and mastering took a bit longer, but here we did quite well, because on 3-4 weekends for 2-3 hours. We chose Łukasz Suszko, because our friend, who made as logo, knew him. As we didn't have anyone else in mind, we figured we'd try with Łukasz. The effects turned out to be good at that time, however, we decided to record an album with him. We settled in Wesoła24 Studio and together recorded 14 songs. As I mentioned before, the process of recording was really nice, without haste and was really comfortable for a studio where there is always something going on.
An important part and a kind of extra bonus for fans today is the physical CD. You released the new album at CD through Godz's War productions, and it has a great cover art. Who is the author? Do I explain well the picture when I would think it is a body in a considerable state of decay? How did you choose the motif and how does it relate to the music at the record?
B: The author of cover art is Julia Zaręba – our friend, who loves creating arts and paintings. The cover refers to Sumerian art and depicts it as fallen and forgotten, but reviving, which I also mention it in the lyrics. We wanted something eye-catching and different from the common death metal covers, but made with an unique idea and referring to surreal visions.
I have been wandering the underground for over thirty years and I still go to Poland for music with certainty. I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I like your bands a lot and I monitor your scene carefully. Maybe I envy you a little, because we only have a few death metal bands that are worth it. How do you explain that black and death metal are doing so well in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, labels?
B: Nice to hear that Polish bands are appreciated in other countries. A large number of black and death metal bands is caused relatively simply, by general situation in Poland. I mean, religion, politics, hypocrisy, promoting bad values – these things here take absurd proportions and brainwash people. In effect, black and death metal bands in our country express anger, opposition and because of honesty in this matter, many of these bands enjoy interest over the world. All of these type of bands have unique character, which is liked by abroad. I perceive the scene, fans and labels very well. I’m glad that there are still fans of extreme music, younger bands are with us and a lot of good labels, that releasing sensible black/death/thrash music, exist.
You play devastating death metal influenced by, among other things, the American school. Today, the band can't avoid comparisons, but I would like to know how the idea to start TOUGHNESS was born, who was and is your metal idol? Where do you want to move your band? Are you attracted to large foreign festivals, for example, are you willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
B: I have nothing to hide, I'm inspired like everyone else. The turning point of being a guitarist and vocalist was situation when I got to know Demilich and Morbid Angel albums. Music from these bands really change my mind! I want to move my band in the regions of brutality and even more stuffy atmosphere in the future. But who knows? It may change haha. Yes, I’m attracted to large foreign festivals, because we want to share with people our view on death metal and show how it can be developed. We would like to play with a more famous band, because we give 200% of ourselves in the live version.
When I started my blog six years ago, I had a vision that I would try to support bands that are not so much popular, or they are lost in underground. To let the world knows about them. I think I'm doing quite well, at least according to the responses. How do you approach the promotion of your music? Do you rely upon the label or do you send the CDs for various reviews by yourself? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. What about you? Are you also fans who often support your colleagues? Do you go to concerts?
B: In the perspective of our city, which is not too big and there is no bigger metal scene here, we believe that a good label is essential. And Godz Ov War Production is. YouTube, Bandcamp or Spotify are nice tools, but today more important is personal contact with people. Okay, live shows are one thing, but good label is the same important topic. The label provides you with reliable promotion and reaching more and more listeners. We rely upon the label, but we also send the CDs for magazines, blogs or metal listeners personally – so using both these solutions. Of the buying of albums, I have the same approach as you. I buy what I like, but also carefully look for new interesting CDs/tapes and support underground artists. We often support our colleagues, because this is how the scene look. If you don't support honest artists (and that's what we're talking about here), bands break up. So I also try to be at local gigs, and of the bigger ones, recently, I was at Blood Incantation in Warsaw.
On the one hand, today the new band has a lot of opportunities to make themselves more known, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of groups and the fans are getting lost in this big metal sea. A lot of people just download mp3s from the internet and instead of to visit the concert they prefer to spit poisonous saliva on Facebook. How do modern technologies affect you as TOUGHNESS? What do you think about downloading music, google metalists, streaming music, etc.?
B: Surprisingly, they work quite well. By modern technologies, I made some contacts, found Greg from Godz Ov War Productions and managed to arrange the concerts. You just have to use it wisely and not spend your whole life on it. Downloading or streaming music I accept. With the current music crowd, there is no blind buying. First, the album is checked online, then it is purchased in a physical version. Well, unless it's a band like Gorguts, then you can buy without prior listening.
I like to ask the musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it, whether it is more the philosophy and lifestyle thing for them or "just" relaxation? What does it mean for you? How do you perceive and experience it?
B: For me it’s the main lifestyle and the only meaningful dimension of our existence. It means to me that I am still developing, creating my sounds and still looking for all kinds of solutions in this type of music, but I'm also a fan, I support the underground scene and I'm looking for more interesting albums. I listen to music every day. And I don't think otherwise it can work if you are a fan or a musician.
Finally, a classic but important question. What is TOUGHNESS planning in the upcoming months? Where can we see you at the stage and when will you visit the Czech and Slovak Republics?
B: We want to reach places we have not been to before, visit countries and meet new people. So the Czech and Slovak Republic are also in our target. We are waiting for good suggestions, because, bearing in mind how many amazing festivals you have there, that would be a great experience.
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish a lot of success to the new album and let the number of your fans expand as much as possible. I will look forward to seeing you somewhere live again. I wish you a lot of success both musically and personally. I'm going to push "The Prophetic Dawn" into my head again!
B: Thank you for the interview, it was a pleasure. Cheers and see you all on stage.
Recenze/review - TOUGHNESS - The Prophetic Dawn (2022):
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