Calling forth the spiritus of ancient maniac craft as they further hone formative vision Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland-based death/thrash metal quartet FORTIFICATION realize precision within this first official EP release. ‘Don’t Question My Authority‘ finds the band cranking the volume on their pulse beyond the rehearsal room, fusing the rapacious sweep of earlier work with increasingly ambitious riff-focused aggression toward a better realized sound. Crossing wires between mid-to-late 80’s extreme metal abandon and brutal thrash/death metal is thrill enough but there is an inkling of avant-garde or progressive bent wriggling into their work here which shows some great potential for what they’ll do next.

Fortification formed back in 2024 by way of at least one of the folks behind defunct death-thrashers Necrochapel, stating their main influences as the late 80’s Brazilian death thrash (“death-core” to some) scene alongside earlier Floridian death metal. They’d tackled their way through their first rehearsal/demo tape (‘S.H.A. Demo‘, 2025), a hellish and rushed pair of songs that’d reflected a maniac obsession with the chaos of stuff like Sarcófago and Sextrash. Four months later they were ready with a second demo (‘Soldier of the S.H.A.‘, 2025) reflecting similar style with vastly different pacing, staccato death-thrash blasts in punkish burst and slower droning movement (“Slaughter/Dark Times”) aiming for oddly slung heaviness. Their lead guitars weren’t great but the macabre attack remained the main draw as general structures manifested in between rattling and blasting rants. Its not exactly a one-to-one comparison but listening to that second demo recalled the similarly unhinged energy of the first two Slashing Death demos but with the cracked rhythms of Expulser‘s second tape.

‘Don’t Question My Authority‘ is a logical step taken as the band’s persistence pays off with sharper performances and stylized studio quality recordings, taking the best stuff from Fortification‘s homebrewed demos alongside new pieces unto a more readable and wrathful stance. Opening with the slower, heavier looming “Dark Times” signals their push toward the structured sturdiness of late 80’s extreme thrash as they kick things off resembling Turbo‘s hardest edge (via ‘One Way‘) in the final ~third of the song. Their transformation of “Sadistic Sinner” speaks more to the quality of the recording here in that precision performances elucidate the vision of the band as less chaotic and more abrupt, urgent in the way they stab through their riffs.

Of course there is a sort of Torture Squad-exemplified transitional effect which comes with pro-level recordings and tighter playing. If you look to the ‘The Unholy Spell‘ era of that band you’ll understand how Fortification‘s own work was changed and how that might apply within a song like “Don’t Question My Authority” which resembles a similar set of influences with irreverent pacing taken out of the rehearsal space into practicum. The title track likewise reflects growing interest in lightly technical twists and turns of the riff, ranting movement which reflects growing interest in the earliest “prog-death” shades a la R.A.V.A.G.E.. You’d still recognize the band via signature songs like “S.H.A.” but here they’ve obviously been cleansed of their off-time rattling and tightened unto less bestially summoned tension.

The final three songs on ‘Don’t Question My Authority‘ similarly blend the bands earliest ideas (“Word of Hate”) with some of their newer devices with “Sew Row” carrying both prog-thrash/speed metallic interest in its stretch alongside standout/closer “Deathrasher” providing a scene-steeling, show closing shrieking speed metal anthem. Could’ve sworn it was a cover song the first time I’d heard it. Not the most representative cut for those seeking a quick idea of their gig but a good way to end an already substantive EP.

It would be fair to see the melding of ideas found on ‘Don’t Question My Authority‘ as both varietal and somewhat inconsistent in terms of carrying technique from piece-to-piece but this is a function of past-and-present meeting broader goal. When considered as an independent debut EP which makes good on Fortification‘s starting point and begins to transition into their increasingly capable and ambitious constructs it is yet a fine achievement which reads as unique stuff from folks pathing their own way through ancient underground niche. As an obsessive fan of death/thrash metal style, and late 80’s extreme thrash in general, I’d found this record strangely paced per its slugger of an opener but ultimately left it stoked on both the potential of the band and their current style which is a fine balancing act of raw, abrupt ferality and muscularly cut thrashing death. A high recommendation.

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