Toxik - Dis Morta (2022)

 Finally, after 33 years, the third Toxik full-length had arrived, and yes, while I realize there had been enough material across the various works that comprised the III Works compilation, which I have separated out to review individually, this was a brand new joint entirely. When I first spun this Dis Morta, I wasn't sure what to think...I couldn't comprehend that the band could still sound this fresh and relevant. I thought it was quite an impressive line drawn in the sand, but I shelved it for months, probably just because I was flooded with so much else and my mind was not ready to process an album like this. Yes, Dis Morta is the screaming, blazing, technical maelstrom of controlled chaos you knew Toxik was capable of producing, and 44 minutes of it, no slim picking like the last crop of reunion releases.

The production here deserves mention, because while it had been impactful and clear on the recordings leading up to this, it has so much more dimension for what's going on. The album sounds vast, without losing any of the myriad of frenetic components in all that expanse of sound. Ron Iglesias totally steps it up here, while Kinetic Composure was his attempt to fit the shoes of his predecessors, here he BECOMES a sparkling brand new pair of that footwear in the same line. His mid-range here is just fucking awesome, and I love when he layers it together with Halford-like screams for something really wild. At the same time, his shrill, pure high delivery is the perfect complement to what Sabin and Sanders had screamed out in the past, and he solidifies himself as the perfect successor. The combo of James DeMaria and Shane Boulos hasn't had to evolved much from the EP/demo material, and they can handle whatever the freak Josh Christian throws their way, a bedrock for all the psychotic picking, melodies, and flurries of schizo leads that are flying all over the material. They've also added another rhythm guitar for some punch, and that might be why this just sounds like it has more layers to peel back than the EPs.

As a dial back to Think This, the tracks are often set up with topical social/political/religious samples, newscasts and such, and so you still get the impression you're in that screen-filled control chamber, witnessing the utter calamity of early 21st century civilization. This works best in "Hyper Reality", with the cool of the verses and choruses, wavering back and forth to actually place you best inside the subject, and choppy as fuck with the erupting technical thrash. After spending over a year with the album, I don't really think there are many weak points, even where the band hurls in a djentish rhythm ("Creating the Abyss") or a ethereal ballad intro ("Devil in the Mirror") it all ties in perfectly to the greater structure of the album, and let's the members play around with ideas that Toxik hasn't been able to delve too far into in its past. This is not necessarily the gold standard that Think This was in 1989, but it's a superb modernization and has confidently grown into my second favorite of their catalogue, even though all three of them are well worth possessing. The cover art's a little on-the-nose, but they all were, and its symmetry is a fit symbol for how tight this damn band is.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://toxikmetal.net/

Toxik - In Humanity EP (2020)

While we still might not have arrived at the songwriting level of the Toxik classics World Circus and Think This, the In Humanity EP was the material that really made me think we'd get there if the band were able to once again get a proper full-length out on the market. The new tracks on Kinetic Closure and the Breaking Clas$ EP were worthwhile, no doubt, but In Humanity is really the next step forward, the most experimental stuff Josh had come up with, a mind-snapping morass of clinical and evil sounding melodies, scales and harmonies rooted in groovier rhythm sections, bass popping out all over the place, and then the conversion into these more intense, roiling double-bass sections. But another treat here is that Mike Sanders, the vocalist of World Circus, has returned for this material...

That's pretty neat, it's like a hat trick. You get Charles on the 2017 EP, Mike on another, and a sampling of the able new front-man Ron on the compilation that came out around the same time this did. And Mike might just sound the most pure of the three, giving a crazed performance that rivals the high-pitched siren-calls he meted out on the debut. Some of these songs are structured so interestingly, like "Crooked Crosses" which almost has a Voivod vibe, and it's all pretty stunning during an era when most of the thrash bands were built of sheer nostalgia for the Bay Area or Teutonic sounds, or hellbent on crossover pizza-thrash for partying and dressing the part. Nope, this at least comes off as if its trying to break some new ground in the band's canon, and there wasn't much to compare it to. Perhaps Vektor to an extent, sans the vocal style, but this really hearkens backed to the band's past if it were mixed together with some Realm, Mekong Delta or Deathrow on the brilliant Deception Ignored. It's got those cautionary and immediate vibes to it that present your mind with a social puzzle that you are desperate to unravel.

To be fair, I'm mostly talking about the three core studio tracks ("Too Late, Program Insertion" and "Crooked Crosses") which were available on the demo for this some years earlier. There are also some additional demo tunes here which add some more value, despite having a more repressed, boxy tone to their production, and then an instrumental, "Lunacy's Fringe", which is quite a mess beyond the piano parts, and is by far the least compelling thing on the release. However, these are add-ons and not to be confused with the promise shown by the EP proper, some truly exciting shit that had me absolutely jazzed for whatever might happen next...and something DID happen.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://toxikmetal.net/

Toxik - Kinetic Closure (2020)

Kinetic Closure is the sort of obligatory re-recording of classic tracks that you might expect with a 'comeback band' once they've got some new members in the fold and want to modernize their material, whether it's because they genuinely think it needs to be brought in line with whatever else is going on, or because they have some issues with the original recordings. There's a new singer here in Ron Iglesias, who honestly does his best to channel his predecessors, often succeeding in the higher pitched delivery, and the production of the instruments is not a far cry from the originals. Louder, more aggressive with the newer drumming, new cover art that ports Think This into the Trump era. To be fair, this was a pretty limited release, so nobody was touting this as some important milestone for the band, and it's usually going to be picked up alongside Breaking Clas$ and In Humanity on the III Works collection, where it's a better valey; but this ultimately falls short to me.

There are just some glaring differences in the production and vocal delivery that don't vibe with me as well as either of the original albums, even though the whole band puts in an earnest attempt. Josh is obviously still a ludicrous player that can match himself, the plunkier bass lines and more intense drums were sure to attract younger thrashers who had grown up on more extreme metal than even the frenetic thrash of that late 80s period. Ron is a good singer and I certainly wanted to hear him on newer material, but at best he plays it safe with the screaming of the earlier front-men, and at other times he sounds a little off. For me, the most attractive part of this is hearing the material from the Kinetic Closure single, a pair of tracks that goes off into the more bizarre, experimental thrash tangent that the In Humanity stuff did. These tunes are both nuts and I think I like them even more than the Breaking Clas$ EP, they certainly got me juiced up for modern Toxik more-so than hearing the other tunes I already knew from my teenage years.

Crazy rhythmic spiraling thrash that helps maintain that surgical feel while dropping a lot of the band's more traditional speed/power metal roots in favor of some occasional mid-paced thrash before the following fatal flurries of Christian's highly technical approach. "No Rest for the Wicked" might be the slightly more catchy of the pair, with more ties to the older material, but "Kinetic Closure" itself is a little further into the asylum and a sign of where the band would head with its next, proper third full-length. At any rate, like their other EPs, this felt like the natural direction the band would have taken if not for the decades between formations, and that's a good thing, we didn't have Toxik coming back with some shitty nu-metal or metalcore and a completely ability to read the room. They knew where they left off, they knew what we wanted, and they began delivery with syringes of shrieking, bludgeoning technique. But as relatively, polished as the re-recordings were, I don't find them necessary.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://toxikmetal.net/

Toxik - Breaking Clas$ EP (2017)

Toxik was another of those 80s thrash hopefuls that I'm pretty sure most of us old heads never thought we'd hear from again, so when they had a proper reformation in the 2010s I was quite elated to hear more of that hybrid of thrash, speed and power metal that they initiated with their shrieking debut World Circus, and then refined in the more memorable, progressive Think This. The Breaking Class$ EP more or less gets them back on the horse, and frankly sounds like a natural continuation on their sophomore sound, if leaning a bit more towards the clinical, scalpel-riffing thrash (which they'd delve even further into later). The material reunites reunites axe-lord Josh Christian with Charles Sabin's vocals, and a new rhythm section in Shane Boulos and James deMaria that moves in lockstep to the janky rhythmic explorations found herein.

Yes, this was the most technical wizardry and arguable 'experimentation' you'd have heard from Toxik yet, building upon the potential of the second full-length, nudging just past it, but not necessarily in a flashy way. A lot of the strong moments here on these three tracks are slower to mid-paced grooves in which Josh splays out all these surgical, melodic riffing patterns that give this one a real eerie, cautionary vibe about it. Lots of double bass driving the rhythms to help modernize them from the 80s material, but as they swerve into the chorus hooks, it will definitely come across as material that could have fit right in with Think This. Intelligent thrash metal which delivers the listener of this niche an adventure that they simply hadn't been on through the leagues of pizza-thrash nostalgia, Bay Area or Teutonic cloning that so many of the re-thrash bands pursued. All the players are on point here, whether they're speeding along at a rapid clip or breaking into grooves or even a few riffs that sound tongue-in-cheek, like in the blazing title track.

Sabin might not be quite so effortlessly shrill here as he was decades before, but he still sounds rather good and I've always enjoyed the shifts between his mid-ranged raving and the creepier high pitch that he alternates in to give this that more psychotic, thrilling feel. The guitars are obviously top notch as this man is just one of our East Coast scene's unsung heroes in the field, making it all sound easy but still prioritizing riffs or leads that will catch your ear rather than jerk himself off. As a sampler EP of a potential future Toxik, this was quite encouraging to hear after so many years, and though I know this wasn't technically their first material since getting back on the train (the In Humanity demo came out before, but I hadn't really listened through it), they really feel as if no time has passed at all, other than maybe the drumming. The songs here aren't quite Think This-level quality, but certainly solid.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://toxikmetal.net/

Toxik - Think This (1989)

So, as it turns out, World Circus was naught but a primer for Toxik, and a crude one at that. So if that slab of frenetic riffing and acrobatic screeching is only the tip of the iceberg...then just how good could the follow-up be? Two years pass, and Toxik returns to answer that question, with a close to immaculate sophomore release that defies all expectations and stands far out ahead of the pack, almost reaching the lofty heights set by other bands Coroner and Deathrow in 1989 with albums like No More Color and Deception Ignored. Think This goes above and beyond its predecessor in that the memorable writing of the songs is ramped well up, the musicianship is on point if not exceeding that, and the entire album features a concise structural theme which explores the horrors of mass media and its effect on the average American. Not all the lyrics share the same subjects, mind you, but as a whole they function like a mirror into the issues of the late 80s, when our programming was becoming all too evident...

There are a few personnel changes here which may also have contributed to the album's superiority. Vocalist Mike Sanders is replaced here with Charles Sabin, who is another vocalist capable of the high pitched notes, but reigns them in considerably for a performance that falls somewhere between Ray Alder of Fates Warning and Erik A.K. of Flotsam & Jetsam (the latter more in attitude). John Donnelly joins Josh Christian on the guitar and additional synths, and the band begins to have a field day as they create a progressive speed/thrash classic which resounds even today. 20 years and not much of the paint has flaked from Think This. You don't hear many albums like this today, with great higher pitched singing that doesn't grate on your nerves or attempt to annoy you with retro poseur moronism.

"Think This" wastes no time in cutting the point, the youth are being contorted over decades of viewership into a set of beliefs, mind control through repetition alone. This task is accomplished with a rousing, twisting thrasher that could just as well have been written by Dream Theater, for all its wonderful solos and melodies and jamming potential (but never overboard). "Greed" shifts the channel to a wonderful Wall Street sample and a turbulent, escalating thrust of melodic thrash metal which develops momentum and mystique through its myriad riffs, acoustic overlays and constant activity. "Spontaneous" is one of the best Toxik tracks hands down, with a Bush (senior) sample that leads into a great mid-paced mosh rhythm, steadily building steam with a flurry of bouncing bass and churning riffs that develop a punctual verse. The chorus is stunning, as Sabin screams out the woes of economy like a jet hissing past inches from your face. "There Stood the Fence" is a hard rocking power ballad, but a beautiful one. If this track had the name Poison, Warrant or Slaughter attached to it, we'd still be hearing it on our classic rock stations today. But alas, it does have a bit of a technical swagger to its writing which still identifies it as Toxik. But have no fear, "Black and White" returns to the band's manic, skilled riffing and clinical dissections of the modern world, with an amazingly catchy melodic vocal bridge and freakish, discordant edge to the chorus, and excellent leads.

Politicians, word magicians they've got us fighting ourselves
Simple logic with hands in our pockets
We're all for sale!

Ditto "Technical Arrogance", with its coiling rhythms and arpeggios. Ditto "Burn Jim/In God" which opens with haunting organs and evangelical samples before rupturing into a thrashgasm. "Machine Dream" is beautiful, with lush melodies and synth tones that once more give in to the impulse to thrash out of control, and searing dual leads. After this, we are treated to a great cover of Zeppelin's "Out on the Tiles", which somehow fits into this album perfectly. "Shotgun Logic" is the anti-drug anthem, opening with an all too familiar commercial sample and proceeding to punch out some pretty seriously amazing riffs. "Time After Time" is the last track, with some more amazing guitar work, and a really cool interplay with backing vocals below Sabin's screaming. To say that this is actually the weakest track on Think This is really speaking volumes for just how tight this album was in its day.

In a world that was embracing Fates Warning and Dream Theater, I find it absolutely staggering that this record was not a major success...it's superior to either Perfect Symmetry or When Day & Dreams Unite, if only people had been listening for it. The album is still quite a refresher, with a level production that recalls King Diamond's Conspiracy of the same year. Sadly, it was the last we'd hear from Toxik for years. The lyrics are still pretty relevant, and though some of them have that kind of cheeky 80s socio political highbrow vibe to them, they're not bad. The band is back together these days, supposedly working on new material, and let us hope it's not too late for them to achieve the glory they deserve. Some people may rue Sabin's higher pitched, shrieking vocals, but if you're on board for some great screaming and wonderful, progressive speed and thrash, this automatically belongs to your collection.

Highlights: randomly skip to any point in the 53+ minutes of this recording, and you will likely land on a highlight.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (less than perfect, but it was home)

http://www.myspace.com/toxikmetal

Toxik - World Circus (1987)

Toxik are another of those 80s bands who, for some inexplicable reason, did not quite reach the level of success that their music was more than capable of. A frenetic, screaming debut of NY thrash and speed metal, World Circus is an explosion of hyper riffing and intensity that often borders on ridiculous due to Mike Sanders' agonizing shrieks. But the riffs...oh, the riffs here are consistently busy and more often than not, as catchy as an STD in a third world slum. Of their two full-length releases, this is the more crude and barbaric, favoring the relentless speed metal of the day, yet the roots of the band's future progression were already being laid.

My first exposures to the album as a teen were mixed, as I considered the band to be nearly out of control and the production of the album and screaming vocals often hurt my ears. Repeated listens, however, have assured me that it was simply a lack of preparation for what I was to hear, and this is actually a decent effort. But one does have to get past the vocals, which are far more uncouth than a Halford or Tate and often too shrill and self-indulgent for their own good, or for the songs.

"Heart Attack" is an accurate description for its own riffs and the cruel sorcery of its siren-like chorus wailing, gleeful and mischievous speed, which mocks at you from the proverbial big top of the album's cover art. As kinetic as the track feels upon first contact, it's actually a sequence of tightly controlled rhythms over which Sanders' antics work rather well. "Social Overload" has a pretty badass verse, with Sanders crying off into the background, the bass of Brian Bonini popping along under the mean and dirty rhythms, and an almost mechanical aptitude for destruction. "Pain and Misery" is perhaps a little too shrill, though Sanders offers a crystalline performance over the low, grooving hard rock breaks of the verse. "Voices" features some rather interesting guitar lines, sporadic and melodic and a nice foreshadowing for the direction they'd often move on Think This. "Door to Hell" is one of my personal favorites here, for the excellent riffing that opens the track and the ascending melody which breaks into its full throttle charging.

Put there by liars, the money messiahs, decay, obey
Shoot, kill, good will, God is on our side
Don't ask your task, do what you must do

Following is the memorable title track, which features an intro sample of nuclear winds that erupts into a metallized carnival melody, and then a thrust into the delicate balance of complex chaos that inaugurates the chorus. A lot of wild leads follow over some solid mid-paced thrashing, and yet another circus slaughterhouse. At this point, Toxik are perhaps wise to offer a great acoustic instrumental "47 Seconds of Sanity" and then a pretty tight track in "Count Your Blessings", where Sanders really shines like a glaring warning from the depths of the psyche. "False Prophets" delivers a fast flurry of axe wizardry, and "Haunted Earth" is another of the album's very best tracks, with great backing shout vocals that build over its excellent post-apocalyptic street level riffing. "Victims" is as wild and riotous as anything else you'll find on World Circus, ending the debut with a loud power thrashing bang.

I still can't say today that I love the sound of this record completely, but it certainly does wonders to elevate the high pitched lead squeals and vocal squeals that dominated the band's sound and gave them a notoriety within the metal underground. This was a band with enough raw technical ability that guitar university freaks and thrashers alike would answer to their thrilling tones, and World Circus was a pretty good introduction that the band would later develop in nearly every category. Not every song here is equally catchy, but if you like bands that are long on the riffing and screaming then I very much advise you to give Toxik a listen.

Highlights: Heart Attack, Door to Hell, World Circus, Count Your Blessings, Haunted Earth

Verdict: Win [8/10] (they're ripping something from me)

http://www.myspace.com/toxikmetal