Polish quartet Izzy and The Black Trees are frequent guests on our blog. Not because they are a great rock band from Poland (our home country), but in my humble opinion they are one of the best contemporary artists in Europe. You can find many musicians on the rock circuit that are engaged politically and equally skilled musically, but somehow many lack the chemistry and some sort of charisma that Izzy and The Black Trees naturally possess.
“Obliteration/New Rage” single cover
On 28th August the quartet dropped a new release – a double single “Obliteration”/”New Rage” and a promotional video – their brand new material since “Go On, Test The System” EP from 2024. And surely a taste of things to come as their upcoming album “Kisses to Chaos” is scheduled to be out in Spring 2026.
To everyone who followed Izzy and The Black Trees to this point, the new single will come as a bit of a surprise. The songs are much slower,still radio friendly with great uplifting choruses but way darker and gloomy. I guess a lot of music writers will now be in a pickle. Pick up any review of the band and you will find comparisons to Sonic Youth and Iggy Pop, descriptions of punk, noise and psychedelia masterfully rolled into a powerful rock concoction. “Obliteration” and especially “New Rage” close the door on that chapter quite loudly.
In a way, this is great. Izzy and The Black Trees now take more inspiration from Black Sabbath than Mr Pop, their riffage goes low, nearly reaching consensus with the likes of Down, Crowbar or even EYEHATEGOD. No exaggeration here – just listen to the beginning of “New Rage” and tell me this is not a doom metal guitar work there in full display. And Iza Rekowska`s monotonous (on purpose!) vocals just make so much sense on the new recordings, more than ever before. The emphasis is on the atmosphere – claustrophobic, brutalist and heavy.
Izzy And The Black Trees by Michal Gdula
The only respites come from the choruses themselves – where the band allows some lighter tones, like few rays of sunshine breaking though the heavy clouds on a particularly dark winter day. And in those moments you can hear `the old` Izzy and The Black Trees with their punky roots and fondness for rock and roll avantgarde. The clash of eclectic rock and metal riffage creates a new palette of emotions for a listener. Mind, it is not something quite groundbreaking, few bands went heavier in their sounds before so don’t expect Izzy and The Black Trees to tour next year with Cradle of Filth or Samael or anything of this sort. But anyone who complained why the quartet appeared on Mystic Festival in the past owes the band apologies. Izzy and The Black Trees can rock and they rock hard, good enough for Download if you ask me.
Personally, I’d prefer if “New Rage” was the main single, but I get why “Obliteration” was given priority. It is more marketable (can we say commercial but without the negative aspect of the word), many listeners will relate more to it, it is also more melodic and has memorable lines.
As usual Izzy and The Black Trees have a lot to say about the world we are living in. Religious themes are mixing with a sharp criticism of social media where you have to `debate` others to stay relevant, no matter how extreme their views are. It is very hard not to look at the song in context of what happened with Charlie Kirk, or perhaps “Obliteration” is exactly a song written about how fundamentalist, pseudo Christians (because US based churches are cults, often tax free) stirred debate and dialogue into realm of Mortal Kombat by words and name calling and it radicalizes society to the point of mutual annihilation.
“Obliteration” is promoted by a video where Moiras (or Fates) subject band members to trials of endurance (including going through a desert and surviving cold weather). I won’t be original as this was already pointed out by the band’s fans online – each of the trials represents changes to our planet’s climate. In a world that rewards ignorant and loud mouths, Izzy and The Black Trees are staunch intellectualists and their music and art are full of small details that will speak to those who still treasure manners, knowledge and civility.
“Obliteration”/”New Rage” is an excellent new beginning from a band that I am a huge fan of. Kudos to their label – iconic Antena Krzyku for believing and supporting Izzy and The Black Trees. Antena Krzyku is for Polish independent music what 4AD and Bella Union once were for British music. But I have lost hope in the above, so it is good to know someone out there still cares for ambitious music.
Please follow the band online:
https://www.instagram.com/izzyandtheblacktrees/
https://www.facebook.com/IzzyandtheBlackTrees
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ovgRYo5Ud9pCee7LoD2B3
https://izzyandtheblacktrees.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/izzyandtheblacktrees
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNWta_37hGIGSdLo-zimgww
Record label:
https://antenakrzyku.pl/
Malicia Dabrowicz
Indieterria 