• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Toxik was a band that put out a couple of well-received but steadfastly underground thrash records back in the late ‘80s. Even though by 1987 when their debut was released you had all the "big" thrash bands on major labels, Toxik’s unrelenting speed and technicality kept them from breaking through. Thirty-three years after their last full-length, 1989’s Think This, original guitarist Josh Christian and a new lineup have released Dis Morta. If you were worried that Toxik might have slowed down, put those fears to rest because, if anything, they play faster than ever. Their first album featured a lot of melody, but on Dis Morta the focus is squarely on technicality with a lot of progressive elements in the songwriting. "Dis Morta" and "Devil in the Mirror" are wickedly sharp and even abrasive thrash tunes, though on the latter I like how the frenetic playing offsets the catchy chorus, after which the band winds things up again. The song "Hyper Reality" is one of the more challenging songs, very proggy with esoteric vocals and a jazzy bass line. What hurts this album the most, to my ears, are the vocals, which are one-dimensional and screamy. Tack that on to the fact I’ve never been a huge fan of prog and find overly technical playing hard to appreciate and it’s no surprise Dis Morta leaves me cold. Fans of later Death, Atheist and Cynic will be Toxik’s target audience with this one.