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Toxic Holocaust: Hell On Earth (2010 Reissue) Thrash Metal Nuclear War Now!, Relapse Records October 31st, 2005
Originally posted on January 8th, 2010 | |||
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Review
After seven more releases running the gambit of splits, singles and demos, as well as a best of release, Toxic Holocaust return to to put out their second full length release, Hell On Earth. Following the same structure that just about everything that this act has done, the band is essentially the same thing you heard last time. However, Hell On Earth just seems to be a bit off compared to their debut release. What could possibly be the reason for this sudden change in the band that glorifies everything musically related to the early livelihood of Thrash? The main killer with this one has to be the production. The thing that made the debut Toxic Holocaust so great was it's raw and rather grainy production quality very reminiscent to that of early Thrash release by bands like Kreator and Sodom. This one, however, is far more clear then the last one, as well as seems to have the guitars with less distortion and a little lower in volume. While the music on this one hasn't really changed aside a bit more technicallity thrown in, which is a welcome addition to the sound since continuing the sound the band brought on their debut would have made for a rather repetative album, it sounds a bit restrained and lacks the sheer impact that has become important to the Toxic Holocaust name. Some of the songs on here really do suffer from the low sounding guitars. "Thrashing Death" has the potential to be something absolutely intense, but instead just sounds bland and far from anything that would really get you to pump your fists in the air. "Burn" is another track that does due to how low the guitars are, and has moments where you think there's no music, but it's just the contrast between the guitar's levels playing tricks on you. Hell On Earth doesn't really start to pick up until "Death Camp" (with the exception of the killer earlier tracks "Metallic Crucifixion" and "Arise From The Cemetery"), where the music get's away a bit from the technical sound and goes towards the raw "tear your face off" kind of sound that has become familiar to their fans. The only track in this last leg of the album that will aggrivate the listeners will be "Never Stop the Massacre" due to it so abruptly ending, as if the song had the last two, maybe three seconds cut off from it. The last two tracks on this one really showcase a heavy Punk influence in the guitar work, moreso then anything else on here, but the title track "Hell On Earth" really winds up suffering due to the guitar solo sounding so hollow and contracts completely with it sounding clear and muffled against the distorted and low main guitars utilized throughout the entire album. Relapse Records 2010 Reissue Once again, nothing on this reissue has been touched, but this time a little remastering with the guitars probably would have gone a long way, as would some bonus material due to the quality of this release. Either way, this reissue of Hell On Earth acts more as a way to make it easier for the newfound fans of Toxic Holocaust to obtain the earlier material without breaking the bank. So, if you already own this one, there's no real need to pick it up again, unless you are just that loyal to the band. If not, now is your chance to complete the band's full length discography. All in all, Hell On Earth brings in some nice differences from the earlier material, including some more obvious Punk influences, as well as some technicallity in the guitar work. While the latter half of the album sounds amazing, the poor production definitely causes the first half to sound rather bland and a bit redundant. Hell, even the latter half doesn't have that much of an impact, but just all around better musically. Hell On Earth is not necessarily a bad album, it's just that the final mix could have been done better, and a bit more intensity could have been added.
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