(TheBRHM.com) While diving into metal in the late 2000s, I ran into a lot of new thrash—or retro thrash, thrash revival—as well as some speed metal revival bands. Some of these bands featured members from black metal bands or who had a background or influences in black metal and maybe crust punk.
While I was really enjoying the stuff that didn’t feature heavy blackened or punk influences in the production and sound—the blackened stuff was intriguing. You had bands where the blackened element came in the instrumentals and production and less from the vocals. This worked for me and I was discovering bands such as the disbanded Baphomet’s Blood, Dismantle, Children of Technology, and Mortifier.
Basically, bands on the “Slayer-Sodom-Kreator” end of the thrash pool including Toxic Holocaust.
Toxic Holocaust and 2000s Thrash Metal
The Joel Grind-founded and led Toxic Holocaust was formed in 1999. This period—late 90s and early 00s—was a period when several of New Wave of Thrash Metal bands would form and disband. Looking at some of the bands from that time on Encyclopedia Metallum, you’ll find that some of those early bands were more like prototype or precursor projects.
Grind honed TH’s early sound across two years of demos and split albums, progressively improving—as were a couple of the band’s contemporaries such as Skeletonwitch and Violator. The 2000s run of Toxic Holocaust produced three projects and we’ll see which one was the best of the decade.
On “Best of the Decade”, we go into a band’s discography for a particular decade and rank the albums. The last one listed is what we consider their best of the decade. The only criteria here is that the band have at least three full-length albums in that decade.
Let’s dive into these early Toxic Holocaust projects!
Evil Never Dies (2003)
I discovered this album about five years after its release and was impressed by the atmosphere and speed on display. Mind you, the deeper you dig into the New Wave of Thrash, you’ll find similar approaches and influences less than six feet down. Since TH was one of the first bands of that wave I discovered, they stood out. It also didn’t help that the band became more varied in lyrical content and sound with time, addition of members, and advances/access in recording.
Basically, Toxic Holocaust became more polished—in a good way. Here, the black metal influences on TH’s sound is still very thick including the very production. It makes for a darker, feral thrash sound which will always work with the lyrical content the band worked with heavily in the first trilogy of albums.
I love diving into early discographies and I’m always pleased when the debut is worth the listen and enjoyable start to finish. END fits the bill will several bangers across 32-minutes of twelve tracks about nuclear war, the post apocalypse, and Hell—all themes I dig!
This album or An Overdose of Death make for a great introduction to the band. Unfortunately, I discovered our next entry before the debut and that provided a bit of a problem when trying to appreciate END.
The Bangers: War is Hell**, 666*, Atomik Destruktor*
An Overdose of Death… (2008)
Of the decade, An Overdose of Death is my favorite from Toxic Holocaust. It was the album I discovered the band through and enjoyed instantly from the opener “Wild Dogs” but was sold with “Nuke the Cross” and it’s hard thrashing gallop. It’s a banger-banger. There are other strong tracks here but the bombs drops came in the first two tracks. Everything else is cannon and shotgun fire because like the two albums before it: TH was about speed and gross power.
However, the 2008 release was the start of a more-polished TH. Personally, I put it down to access to better recording, better song writing, and so on. It was almost a decade since the band was formed and five years since the debut. Bands tend to improve early on before getting into the groove the fans expect.
Having listened to their discography, I’d say they were really ending towards interesting times creativity here. The album doesn’t have the speed of END or Hell on Earth but it does have a heaviness that the first lacked.
The Bangers: Wild Dogs*, Nuke the Cross**, War is Hell*, Death from Above*, City of a Million Graves**
Toxic Holocaust – Hell on Earth (2005)
We’ve gone into the other two albums enough that there isn’t too much to say about the best of the decade here. It has enough of the vocal and instrumental approach and energy from Evil Never Dies but production and lyrical focus-wise, it’s the bridge to An Overdose of Death. It’s the Reese’s Cup of the 2000s trifecta: the best of both worlds.
What I dig the most about this album is that it kept the speed of END and went feral with it. The album clocks in at 27 minutes and change but there are a number of instrumentals here. Normally, I’d boohoo that since I’m not a big fan of instrumental tracks on albums but that atmosphere from END is present here and the instrumentals contribute heavily to that.
Besides, if I was ranking this based on meat on the bone, An Overdose…would get the nod as best of the decade. As far as tracks to check out here, “Thrashing Death” is probably the star of the album for me—but I’m a sucker for thrash anthems—“Ready to Fight” and “Hell on Earth” are definitely worthy of banger status.
The Bangers: Arise from the Grave*, Thrashing Death**, Never Stop the Slaughter*, Ready to Fight*, Hell on Earth*
If you listened to these albums, how would you rank them? Let us know in the comments!
Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.