Band:	Toadeater
Album:	Bit To Ewigen Daogen
Style:	Crust Punk, Post black metal
Release date:	October 02, 2020
A review by:	RaduP

01. ?Before The Desecrated Sanctuary
02. Conquering The Throne
03. Crows And Sparrows
04. Returning The Crown
05. Too Close To The Sun

I knew Toadeater would impress me with their next album, but I was still surprised.

Folks may remember that I covered their demo in our Clandestine Cuts series, but that one holds a special place in my heart because it is actually the first release I ever covered for the series. And it might've been the one who put the series back on its feet after the previous year only had one issue. So yeah, there are few releases that actually have personal historic value for me. Toadeater moved from being a CC band to a front page one with the release of their debut album, Codex, which I also reviewed. Before this was released I wasn't sure if I wanted Toadeater to turn into the kind of band I felt an obligation to constantly review, especially since they seem like the kind of band who release stuff regularly. And then I listened to it.

I came across their demo because of a hilarious picture of a giant toad eating a man. That had a nice blend of black metal and crust punk, that still had a lot of atmosphere. Then Codex was a more serious cover art. The album was a lot darker, with the black metal moving more towards a post/atmospheric phase. Now Bit To Ewigen Daogen seems like their most serious release to date, and I did not expect that blacked crust band to become an atmospheric black metal band where all the songs are in the 8-9 minute range (except the intro), especially considering that Codex didn't even have any songs go over the 7 minute mark. And thus the album still maintains roughly the same runtime by being concentrated in 1+4 tracks.

Long songs don't necessarily mean good songs, but it is a testament to Toadeater growth how well they pulled this off, and their songwriting makes the riffs and atmospheres even more hypnotic and dark. The quarrels I had with their lo-fi production are still valid, especially with how rough the transition from the intro to the second track is, but for the rest of the album it adds to the punk ethos and the general vibe of the record. The crust elements are pushed back even more, mostly relegated to the vocals, and more and more their riff and atmosphere blend of black metal makes them sound like a mix of Altar Of Plagues and Mgła. It's obvious that Toadeater aren't yet precisely on that level, and I don't wanna be biased, but I think they do a damn good job at it.

There are a lot of elements I do not remember on the previous releases, namely the chanted vocals, but also just how hard-hitting some of the moments are. Though their punkish aggression is no more, it is replaced by such a dynamic sense of ebb and flow that hits so damn hard in its more intense and frantic moments. The riffs and the drumming do call back a lot onto Mgła, but the sense of atmosphere and repetition also has a bit of a post-punk and goth rock vibe at times, making the darkness even more nuanced, so much so that often it actually benefits from the raw production the same way that a lot of black metal does. Though I wouldn't mind if Toadeater had a bit of a bigger budget.

Now pretty much mostly a black metal, I can only hope that Toadeater will be a name that will be more and more commonplace. And I hope their next album will surprise me once more.