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Like in the pit for a new band with no good material.-
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| Toxic Holocaust: Conjure and Command |
Thrash Metal
Relapse Records
July 19h, 2011
- Judgement Awaits You - 1:58
- Agony of the Damned - 4:06
- Bitch - 2:53
- Red Winter - 3:38
- Nowhere to Run - 3:51
- I Am Disease - 4:31
- In the Depths (Of Your Mind) - 2:48
- The Liars are Burning - 2:58
- Revelations - 2:55
- Sound the Charge - 3:22
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| Review Information |
Release length: 33:00
Review posted on June 25th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 4.5/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Evil Never Dies (2003) • Hell on Earth (2005) • An Overdose of Death (2008) • Conjure and Command (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Gravelord (2009)
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| Split(s): |
Implements of Mass Destruction/Nuclear Apocalypse:666 (2002) • Toxic Holocaust/Oprichniki (2003) • HRPS Vol. 1 (2004)
Outbreak of Evil (2004) • Thrashbeast from Hell (2004) • Blasphemy, Mayhem, War (2005) • Don't Burn the Witch... (2006)
Speed n' Spikes Vol. 1 (2008) • Toxic Holocaust/Inepsy (2010)
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| Single(s): |
Death Master (2004) • Power From Hell (2004) • Reaper's Grave (2006)
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| Demo(s): |
Radiation Sickness (1999) • Critical Mass (2002) • Promo 2004 (2004) • Demo 2007 (2007)
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| Compilation(s): |
Toxic Thrash Metal (2004)
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| Live CD(s): |
Live - Only Deaf is Real (2007)
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| DVD(s): |
Brazilian Slaughter 2006 (2008)
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| Review |
Toxic Holocaust is considered one of the most important figureheads of the current Thrash Revival. The group started off as a one man Thrash act from Portland, Oregon, putting out release after release, and eventually bringing in Phil Zeller and Al Chambers of Rammer as full-time members to the group. Considering that much of the fame towards this band was built around the fact that it was a one man project, outside of a session drummer in the studio for the previous recording An Overdose of Death and session members for live shows, the fear that the material on the group's following fourth full-length studio effort, Conjure and Command, won't be as strong had been buzzing around. While this album does sound stronger, some of these fears also do seem a bit justified, but not necessarily due to the additional band members.
The evident old-school Thrash love is still here, and that's perhaps the most important aspect of Conjure and Command. The album possesses that hostile attitude behind it with a very dark and menacing atmosphere fans have come to know and love on previous recordings. The music here is has a heavy distortion and is the guitars are very deep with the bass volume levels pretty high as well that makes it sound even more crushing. But, while all that sounds great, the problem here is that the album has a better production value compared to previous recordings. Given how ruthless and hostile this recording is right from the start, one would expect this album to be a little raw, carrying that muddy and dirty sound that has worked for this band, as well as was more of a signature aspect of the audio that the early Thrash sound had back in the day. This causes many songs to actually lose some of their bite, and even though they are almost all intense assaults that are very impressive in that sense and hammer away constantly at the listener, it just doesn't get the blood going or make the listener even want to head bang along with many of the songs here, leaving Command and Conjure to sound like a dog that is all bark, and no bite.
However, one thing that works well with this better quality is with the vocals. While the instruments themselves sound crushing, the vocals are much cleaner, and a lot clearer, and while the lack of distortion or a raw quality may hurt some bands, the rough, sinister vocals that accompany Toxic Holocaust are accentuated perfectly and sound more like what one would expect from early recordings by Slayer or even Kreator. There's great bursts of energy when needed, and when the music can actually catch the listener and match that energetic outburst with adrenaline-pumping intensity, then it's just magnificent and really portrays the potential of Thrash Metal, and why bands have been going back through time to rediscover this sound. "Nowhere to Run", for example, does all of that. This song has a fantastic groove to the Thrash Metal that instantly hooks the listener, but still has a decent amount of brutality to it with energy in the music and vocals, charging the atmosphere moreso to come off dark, evil and head bangingly hopeless.
But, the amount of catchy material on here is very minimal sadly, and there's many tracks that simply just don't hook the listener in any way. The album starts off with "Judgement Awaits You", which is a song that is just under two minutes of brutal, relentless, ruthless Thrash that just pulverises the listener, and for it's overall intensity, it shines through on the release. But, it doesn't really set the tone of the album, and immediately throws warning signs everywhere as it just feels like the album is pushing on against a giant boulder hindering their progression. This is the vibe you get through just about the entire effort, though not all songs manage to recapture that overall furious brutality, though it does a good job at maintaining a hostile atmosphere to the tracks that follow. "Bitch" is one of the stronger tracks, clearly about burning witches, and it's more primal approach to the music with a bit of a groove to the music helps to make the track one of the more enjoyable songs of the album, but it still just doesn't do much or even compare to "Nowhere to Run". Of course, these aren't the only tracks to be found on this release, as "I Am Disease" brings in a slower, more tribal or ritual atmosphere to the song. "Agony of the Damned" does include that sense here and there with some slower passages such as the intro and a bridge that repeats that intro, but it eventually picks up speed and just comes off a bit bland outside the commanding vocals. This track, however, does manage to capture it well with a more chugging approach to the music with passages that have a bit of a haunting vibe to them.
The rest of the album is basically just more of the same. The music isn't bad, but it's just nothing that will really grab the listener. "In the Depths (Of Your Mind)" is another track that feels like a strong representation of Toxic Holocaust and really hammers away at everyone in it's path. "The Liars are Burning" does grab the listener thanks to the hooks in the song that come up like more of a Crossover Thrash song that is a little more fun and engaging then it is brutal and dismally set. "Sound the Charge" also comes off a decent closing song that sums up the general sound of what started the album off, and again, it's more aggressive sound and brutal atmosphere is what drives the song.
Honestly, Conjure and Command is not all that impressive an album. It's actually quite saddening given how enjoyable the previous three efforts are. Whether it's the fact that this is no longer a one man project, with or without a session member for studio work, or that the production quality just made it a bit too clear, something is not right and much of the material here is furious or solid Thrash, but it's just not catchy. Outside a few songs, the whole experience is like going to a concert, and going to the opening act, only to stand still in the pit and watch the band with no burning desire to mosh or even head bang. Conjure and Command by Toxic Holocaust simply feels too clean, and too generic, with the cleaner vocals coming off more like what one would expect from Thrash and showing up every other aspect. It's worth sampling if you're a fan, but even the devoted Thrash fan won't find much reason to listen to this album more then one or two times outside of "Bitch", "Nowhere to Run", "I Am Disease", and "The Liars are Burning". Other then those four tracks, and two of them are even pushing it, the album doesn't really grab the listener the way it should, and actually becomes quite a let down in the long run.
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