“An Inquisition of Angels” by Tchert about what happens after belief has been exhausted, hijacked, gutted. The debut full-length from Prague-based based, out now via ANKN Records, circles around false prophets, corrupted rituals, and the unholy theater of organized religion. It’s less an attack on God, more a study in betrayal—personal, systemic, flesh-deep.
The record is tightly wound, 9 tracks laced with scars. There’s no comfort offered here. The voice behind Tchert draws directly from their childhood experience in the church, not as rebellion, but as a processing.
“Tchert’s lyrics always been my escape of some memories from my childhood – growing up in church,” they explain. “Not even the criticism of the religion or the God – more church as the organised subject in general.”
This isn’t a new trick in heavy music, but it’s rarely this direct. The band digs into scripture itself—see “vain conceit” referencing Philippians 2:3-4, or “eternal” pointing bitterly toward Psalm 43:2—then repositions it as social indictment. No dogma spared. No masks left on.
Three singles had already hinted at the direction: “betrayal,” “eternal,” and “vain conceit.” Each stands as a flagpost in the album’s grim landscape.
But the full release brings in collaborations that give extra weight to Tchert’s infernal vision: Clemo of German outfit Dethroned, Laszlo of Escalate, Shell Beach from Hungary, and Martin from local melodic hardcore band Lorelai. They don’t show up as guests—they bleed in.
The record was mixed and mastered by Scott Crouse (Earth Crisis, Sect, Path of Resistance) at Form IV Audio, which gives some sense of where Tchert’s sound lands: sharp-edged, low-end heavy, with the clarity to let the message cut through. It’s not about speed or genre conformity—it’s the weight that matters.
Lyrically, the album splits in three directions—an abuse of power by churches and misuse of Christian symbols; personal reckonings with betrayal and darkness; and horror-as-metaphor. The horror isn’t fantasy—it’s lived-in, reflective, inherited. “Werewolf” is the clearest example, beginning with a wish to die as a human before the transformation comes. Others, like “sunset was yesterday,” get into dissociative space: an escape into night, into anonymity. A desire to shed not only identity but context.
But Tchert doesn’t rely on abstract dread. The track-by-track commentary provided by the band walks the listener through a narrative of unease, recognizing systems of control and the loneliness of being conscious inside them.
“An Inquisition of Angels” is not without community, though. The Czech underground runs deep, even if Tchert shrugs at the idea of a “scene.” There’s Eternia Smichov in Prague—shows, vegan food, benefit gigs. There’s also 007 and Cafe Na Pul Cesty.
Among the notable bands circling this orbit: Lorelai, Scoop, Marked As An Enemy, Bitter Season, YI, Lifelike, Boost, and Exude. It’s not organized in the way churches are. And maybe that’s the point.
Up next, Tchert is heading out to support Lifesick on tour through Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and the Baltics. Before that, a “deluxe version” of the album is set to drop on cassette, with bonus material.
TCHERT – Spring 2025 Tour (supporting Lifesick)
April 10 – Béi Chéz Heinz, Hannover (DE)
April 11 – Hirsch Q, Dortmund (DE)
April 12 – Gerber 3, Weimar (DE)
April 13 – Klub 007, Prague (CZ)
April 14 – Chmury, Warsaw (PL)
April 15 – XL20, Vilnius (LT)
April 16 – KM12, Riga (LV)
April 17 – Paavli Kultuurivabrik, Tallinn (EE)
April 18 – Lemmy, Kaunas (LT)
April 19 – HD Die Rock & Metal Bar, Dresden (DE)
April 20 – Chekov, Cottbus (DE)
Full track by track commentary below:
Werewolf
It’s a story about being a werewolf. It all starts at night, so I wish to be thrown into a lake as a human, so that I can die as a human before something terrible happens.
Hell (feat. Martin of Lorelai)
Imagination of hell and how it looks like down there. Describing a desire for other people, skin, smell…
Betrayal
A story about me being a member of the Last Supper. I know that Judas gonna betray, so I am gonna try to talk him out of it. It didn’t work, so Jesus is crucified because that’s how it was always meant to be.
Vain Conceit (feat. Laszlo of Escalate)
A message about the condition of our planet which is rotten with selfishness, greed, ignorance, vain conceit through and through—now the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger. Let’s be more solidary and have understanding for others’ lives. – Philippians 2:3-4 NIV
Different Lies
A short catch about pain, going astray, and the lies.
Different Worlds (Halo)
The song about waking up in another world that I don’t understand, probably the hell, where everyone speaks in tongues.
Eternal (feat. Clemo of Dethroned)
“Eternal” is about my growing up in church and watching people dissembling. It’s a real story that concerns my family members who were able to “stab a knife in the back” of my loved ones and then pretend their holiness and compassion during the Sunday worship. It’s also an ironic story about how people try hard for an eternal life. How sad it is to act bad for the whole life and believe that only a last penance can save a person. – Psalm 43:2
Sunset Was Yesterday (feat. Shell Beach)
Psychological one about the desire to be only in the dark, only in a shed, where there is never light and day, and you can be whoever you want and leave the world/struggle you are in.
The Angels Wouldn’t Help You
Instrumental part of the 8) with some Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks) speech – tribute to the legend David Lynch.
