Review by SzejkElRopa on March 31, 2026.

"What's the meaning of life?" or "Where are we going after we die?" are the questions people ask themselves, no matter what their religion is, yet remain unanswered until they die. While I don't possess an answer to these questions either, I know for sure that if you want some optimism, you shouldn't listen to a word by the Polish black metal band Angrrsth. They successfully strip away any sense of hope for an afterlife with their ferocious music. On top of that, the title of the album translates to "To nowhere", and it, to some extent, spoils the lyrical content of the album.

When I first reviewed an album by Angrrsth - "Złudnia" - I stated that the kind of black metal which the Polish band plays doesn't necessarily suit me, and I have quite a different taste. However, I recently found myself coming back to "Złudnia" with, to my surprise, great enjoyment. This harsh, uncompromising, yet with deeper meaning, black metal certainly needed time to find its way to my heart. Since I craved for more material like this, I checked out this album, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. As before, the band's atmosphere relies on heavier riffs, uncompromising drumming, and insanely sophisticated vocal performances. While the latter one might not appeal to everyone, it is a certain element in the band's idea for the music. It has to absolutely crush you and leave you with no hope whatsoever. It might be compared to a brutal journey into the mind of a person gradually falling into insanity after realising the nonsense of life. A great example of a brutal opening can be heard in 'A czego tu się bać?', for instance. The heavy tone of the guitar, combined with a ferocious drumming performance, fulfils the task perfectly. The album also conveys a sense of cosmic emptiness. This is achieved thanks to choirs, which appear in songs like 'Niech się zaprze samego siebie' and '(Nie)byt zmy(ś)lony'. The vocalist also sounds as if he were screaming into emptiness, which adds to the atmosphere.

By far, my favourite track was '(Nie)byt Zm(y)ślony'. It has everything that Angrrsth has to offer: starting with fast-paced drumming, an insanely brutal, yet memorable part close to the end, and, what appealed to me the most, a soft choir that surprisingly matches the atmosphere. Moreover, the atmospheric break with the vocalist screaming, when there is a melodic, clean riff played, enriches the song, building the tension for the end. While it lasts for only slightly more than four minutes, it can serve as a great introduction to the band. As I said, the vocalist's performance is very sophisticated, even theatrical at times. He shows the ability of his possessed shrieking, howling, and screaming. What is interesting is the fact that there is only one guitarist in the band, and he does a great job switching between heavy riffs and more melodic ones, as in 'Niech się zaprze samego siebie', which makes the album more varied. The drummer constantly incorporates fills, and his role isn't marginal at all. He definitely knows how to use the instrument and supports the atmosphere in a very good way.

As I said, to my mind, the album tells a story about a person gradually falling into insanity. This is reflected in the lyrics. The lyrical subject starts pretty optimistically, looking for meaning in the Eastern religions ('Niebiański pogrzeb'), yet with 'Niech się zaprze samego siebie', the tone starts to change. This song starts with a quote from the Book of Ecclesiastes, which states: "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, chasing after the wind". The song 'Ostatni Akt' draws a comparison between life and a theatre performance. The curtain comes down, the actors leave, and after the show has ended, there is absolutely nothing. The vocalist even manically laughs, which I believe makes my aforementioned thesis stronger. In my opinion, the lyrics are essential to understand the album.

To conclude, "Donikąd" is a very compelling album that I definitely enjoyed listening to in its entirety. Obviously, the album isn't perfect, with, for instance, 'Niebiański pogrzeb' being slightly too long and not every song matching the level of '(Nie)byt Zmy(ś)lony'. Most of them were good, but not mindblowing. Because of that, I give this album 8.5/10 as "Złudnia" tells a better story and is a slight yet important step ahead. Nevertheless, I recommend this album to any fans of unconventional black metal.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on January 3, 2024.

Black metal in Poland has always been very successful with each generation of bands, from the oldschool to the modern, and all the way to the so-called “post-modern” ones. Case and point are the band Angrrsth from Toruń, who have published their debut album Donikąd on April 13th, 2021 as an independent Bandcamp release, and later on physical media via Godz Ov War Productions. If you are into polish black metal bands, especially the kind of bands that came from the later generation, you might want to look out for this one. 

Angrrsth provides a solid range of ideas incorporated in a very simplistic but still very rich sounding black metal, which can be varying from catchy to melodic or perhaps even headbanging heavy. All of these are expressed through tremolo picking guitar riffs with double-bass drums and blast beats, and harsh vocals with a bit of shouting vocal style thrown in. The best example that shows how far this band can go in terms of their expression is the third track 'Niech Się Zaprze Samego Siebie', a powerful banger of a song that manages to be both incredibly heavy and catchy, with its mid-tempo drumming and melodic guitar work that take the entire experience on an entirely another level. 

Like I said, this is black metal with rich and strong songwriting, providing a powerful dynamic band performance whose essence was altogether wonderfully captured and encapsulated in every song possible. All throughout this album, you will feel how the music radiates such energy that feels a bit like you’ve embarked on a journey to a world beyond and back, and the best part is that this album’s consistency really does not fall apart towards the end, which successfully concludes the album on a high note with the closing track 'Ostatni Akt', even with the final ring of the church bell. It is really difficult to listen to the songs and not get yourself entirely immersed in the music, because their dynamics manage to give such an effective flow of creativity that sparkles like the very stars on the cover art. Speaking of which, the cover art does truly manage to represent exactly the kind of experience you are witnessing, and this fantastic work was done by Witchslaughter of the polish black metal band Dagorath. The album has an incredibly heavy high-quality sound production that really manages to highlight the best part of every individual instrumental work. 

Donikąd is just one heck of an album that really left me speechless in some parts and also highly satisfied at the very end. This album seems like a prime example showcasing that the band was going all in with their work without having anything go to waste or completely lose focus and let the rest be “whatever” because they can. They truly managed to express passion and dedication to their work, which is definitely going to win you over if you’re into black metal bands of the newer generation. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by SzejkElRopa on March 31, 2026.

"What's the meaning of life?" or "Where are we going after we die?" are the questions people ask themselves, no matter what their religion is, yet remain unanswered until they die. While I don't possess an answer to these questions either, I know for sure that if you want some optimism, you shouldn't listen to a word by the Polish black metal band Angrrsth. They successfully strip away any sense of hope for an afterlife with their ferocious music. On top of that, the title of the album translates to "To nowhere", and it, to some extent, spoils the lyrical content of the album.

When I first reviewed an album by Angrrsth - "Złudnia" - I stated that the kind of black metal which the Polish band plays doesn't necessarily suit me, and I have quite a different taste. However, I recently found myself coming back to "Złudnia" with, to my surprise, great enjoyment. This harsh, uncompromising, yet with deeper meaning, black metal certainly needed time to find its way to my heart. Since I craved for more material like this, I checked out this album, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. As before, the band's atmosphere relies on heavier riffs, uncompromising drumming, and insanely sophisticated vocal performances. While the latter one might not appeal to everyone, it is a certain element in the band's idea for the music. It has to absolutely crush you and leave you with no hope whatsoever. It might be compared to a brutal journey into the mind of a person gradually falling into insanity after realising the nonsense of life. A great example of a brutal opening can be heard in 'A czego tu się bać?', for instance. The heavy tone of the guitar, combined with a ferocious drumming performance, fulfils the task perfectly. The album also conveys a sense of cosmic emptiness. This is achieved thanks to choirs, which appear in songs like 'Niech się zaprze samego siebie' and '(Nie)byt zmy(ś)lony'. The vocalist also sounds as if he were screaming into emptiness, which adds to the atmosphere.

By far, my favourite track was '(Nie)byt Zm(y)ślony'. It has everything that Angrrsth has to offer: starting with fast-paced drumming, an insanely brutal, yet memorable part close to the end, and, what appealed to me the most, a soft choir that surprisingly matches the atmosphere. Moreover, the atmospheric break with the vocalist screaming, when there is a melodic, clean riff played, enriches the song, building the tension for the end. While it lasts for only slightly more than four minutes, it can serve as a great introduction to the band. As I said, the vocalist's performance is very sophisticated, even theatrical at times. He shows the ability of his possessed shrieking, howling, and screaming. What is interesting is the fact that there is only one guitarist in the band, and he does a great job switching between heavy riffs and more melodic ones, as in 'Niech się zaprze samego siebie', which makes the album more varied. The drummer constantly incorporates fills, and his role isn't marginal at all. He definitely knows how to use the instrument and supports the atmosphere in a very good way.

As I said, to my mind, the album tells a story about a person gradually falling into insanity. This is reflected in the lyrics. The lyrical subject starts pretty optimistically, looking for meaning in the Eastern religions ('Niebiański pogrzeb'), yet with 'Niech się zaprze samego siebie', the tone starts to change. This song starts with a quote from the Book of Ecclesiastes, which states: "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, chasing after the wind". The song 'Ostatni Akt' draws a comparison between life and a theatre performance. The curtain comes down, the actors leave, and after the show has ended, there is absolutely nothing. The vocalist even manically laughs, which I believe makes my aforementioned thesis stronger. In my opinion, the lyrics are essential to understand the album.

To conclude, "Donikąd" is a very compelling album that I definitely enjoyed listening to in its entirety. Obviously, the album isn't perfect, with, for instance, 'Niebiański pogrzeb' being slightly too long and not every song matching the level of '(Nie)byt Zmy(ś)lony'. Most of them were good, but not mindblowing. Because of that, I give this album 8.5/10 as "Złudnia" tells a better story and is a slight yet important step ahead. Nevertheless, I recommend this album to any fans of unconventional black metal.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on January 3, 2024.

Black metal in Poland has always been very successful with each generation of bands, from the oldschool to the modern, and all the way to the so-called “post-modern” ones. Case and point are the band Angrrsth from Toruń, who have published their debut album Donikąd on April 13th, 2021 as an independent Bandcamp release, and later on physical media via Godz Ov War Productions. If you are into polish black metal bands, especially the kind of bands that came from the later generation, you might want to look out for this one. 

Angrrsth provides a solid range of ideas incorporated in a very simplistic but still very rich sounding black metal, which can be varying from catchy to melodic or perhaps even headbanging heavy. All of these are expressed through tremolo picking guitar riffs with double-bass drums and blast beats, and harsh vocals with a bit of shouting vocal style thrown in. The best example that shows how far this band can go in terms of their expression is the third track 'Niech Się Zaprze Samego Siebie', a powerful banger of a song that manages to be both incredibly heavy and catchy, with its mid-tempo drumming and melodic guitar work that take the entire experience on an entirely another level. 

Like I said, this is black metal with rich and strong songwriting, providing a powerful dynamic band performance whose essence was altogether wonderfully captured and encapsulated in every song possible. All throughout this album, you will feel how the music radiates such energy that feels a bit like you’ve embarked on a journey to a world beyond and back, and the best part is that this album’s consistency really does not fall apart towards the end, which successfully concludes the album on a high note with the closing track 'Ostatni Akt', even with the final ring of the church bell. It is really difficult to listen to the songs and not get yourself entirely immersed in the music, because their dynamics manage to give such an effective flow of creativity that sparkles like the very stars on the cover art. Speaking of which, the cover art does truly manage to represent exactly the kind of experience you are witnessing, and this fantastic work was done by Witchslaughter of the polish black metal band Dagorath. The album has an incredibly heavy high-quality sound production that really manages to highlight the best part of every individual instrumental work. 

Donikąd is just one heck of an album that really left me speechless in some parts and also highly satisfied at the very end. This album seems like a prime example showcasing that the band was going all in with their work without having anything go to waste or completely lose focus and let the rest be “whatever” because they can. They truly managed to express passion and dedication to their work, which is definitely going to win you over if you’re into black metal bands of the newer generation. 

Rating: 9 out of 10