For all the bands that came about when thrash metal rose again, if you told me back in 2008 that we would still be talking about the genre and Toxic Holocaust in general, I would have been genuinely surprised.
Not that I ever thought poorly of the band and their wunderkind (at the time) producer and one-man act Joel Grind, but I thought this “re-thrash” phase spearheaded by themselves, and Municipal Waste among others, was just that, a phase. But here we are with their sixth proper album Primal Future: 2019, just about time to get that post-apocalyptic gear ready for total oblivion.
Blasting down the gates is the gravel throated Grind on “Chemical Warlords,” eliciting sounds of Venom’s first few albums and more recent contemporaries like Midnight. The riffs are fat, fast and vile; just what long time fans expect from the band.
“New World Beyond” might not be the band’s fastest, but it shows some shouted sections with Grind slowing things down to a near halt, with the drums pounding in between transitional riffs. The production job here shows off Grind’s ability to produce records masterfully, with a keen ear on the vile thrash of the mid-’80s that he often imitates and often makes his own.
Grind has been a busy man for a long time, whether it be on the touring front or spending studio time with his band and particularly many other bands, likely some of the biggest the genre has to offer. He has had a long time to fine tune his own craft and Primal Future: 2019 may be the best Toxic Holocaust album yet. This project has come a long way from when I first saw them open for Napalm Death in New Jersey in 2009. They are a more refined band with a renewed purpose to kick ass and take names as long as Grind says so!
(released October 4, 2019 on eOne Music)
