Author: Crossfire

Regardless of age, you would have heard or listened to an artist influenced by the Bomb the Bass sound. Back in the mish/mash of the late 80s Tim Simenon dropped the cut n’paste classic Beat Dis closely followed by the excellent ground breaking Enter The Dragon album.

If you are expecting another rehash of hiphop fused with crazy samples, this album will be a shock, that’s DJ Yoda’s game in 2008. If Enter the Dragon was your thing in the early 90s, its likely you, like Bomb the Bass, have moved on. Electronic music changes fast, from the likes of Massive Attack, Leftfield to the darker Unkle all injecting more feeling and a greater range of emotions in to their programming and delivery, this could be the next meaningful step forward solidifying a more tense, deep sound to the dance music genre.

The first cut off the album is “Smog“, instantly haunting, a nervous tone sets the vibe, Paul Conboy provides vocals and works himself in to the abyss of Simenons dark, despairing musical backdrop. “Butterfingers” keeps the dark, claustrophobic unease with Fujiya and Miyagis’ David Best eerily whispering through lyrics about playing Tetris on his eyelids, which somehow feels fitting to the soundscape. There are no shortage of nods back to his previous years either with a few Adamski style beeps and echoes now lurking as scars from his previous battles in the studio.

All the vocalists on Simenons latest creation are male, and include grunge journeyman Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/QOTSA) oddly appearing on “Black River” which is marginally more organic and human than the clean beats that are present right through the album. Paul Conboy from APE pops up again to laces a few more tunes, including “So Special” which is the lead single from the album. Jon Spencer, (yes from The Blues Explosion) appears to finish the album off with the murky, very urgent Manga/Akira style beat on “Fuzz Box“.

This album is certainly a taste of the future, but will fit right in, and trump the current crop of bands such as MGMT and the other acts/producers that have salvaged their mini-moogs from the attic. The thing that sets this album apart is the greater levels of depth applied to the simplest of beats, Future Kaos is built on possibly one of the most solid musical foundations of the last 20 years. Delaying the album release for the last couple of years has only served to let peoples music tastes evolve enough to be ready for this album, as Simenon is undoubtedly light years ahead of most in the studio and with this release will leave many playing catchup all over again like it was ’88.

Philip Procter

Joel Grind IS Toxic Holocaust. The one man death metal mission. Many session musicians have fallen by the way side since the birth of Toxic Holocaust but it has been solely Mr. Grind cultivating this landscape of horror and killer riffs since the band’s inception in 1999.

The first impression you get from Joel Grind is that he knows his shit. He seems like the type who has been hiding in his “Mom’s” basement for years collecting black and death metal vinyl, shredding to himself and writing pen pal letters to Obituary before finally realising that he could do it all himself. After donning his bullet belt and leathers he set to work on making his third full length and relapse records debut ‘An Overdose of Death…‘ Which, I can tell you now, kicks seven shades of shit out of your ear drums.

On first listen it’s easy to write off Toxic Holocaust as a rip-off band. On closer inspection you realise that they are not a dodgy tribute act or covers band but simply students of the game. Their bludgeoning tracks, backed up by an equally vicious live performance, should silence all critics and nay sayers. Toxic Holocaust are young and blood-hungry. They have taken what made bands like Venom, Exodus, Slayer, Kill ’em all era Metallica and Testament so great and given a fresh take on it from a young, rabid perspective. It’s by no means original, but my god is it refreshing to hear such balls to the wall metal from the younger generations.

It’s hard not to head bang or wish you were watching this band live when you hear the record. From opening track ‘Wild Dogs‘ to the amazingly titled ‘Nuke The Cross‘ the Holocaust don’t give you time to breathe.

Pounding the skins on this LP is Zeke’s own Donny Paycheck who has the ability to produce a sound from his drums on par with a war zone. Believe me when I say, friendly fire this is not! The speed at which he plays is equally matched with Grind’s raspy and gargled vocals. On N.W.O.B.H.M-esq ‘Lord of The Wasteland‘ Grind sounds like he’s dining on a meal of broken glass and rusty needles. ‘Grave Lord’ is the one for the old school speed metallers and will certainly have you wishing you were witnessing the carnage live.

‘Future Shock‘ salutes the classic Motorhead sound where as, what is bound to become a pit classic, ‘War Is Hell‘ unleashes a barrage of killer licks and breakdowns. This album grips you from start to finish with absolutely no let up. It’s simply packed with brutal riffs and has no room for filler.

With so many bands these days churning out trash and death metal releases it has become increasingly harder to siv through the shit. Toxic Holocaust stand decapitated head and shoulders above the rest. ‘An Overdose Of Death…‘ is one of the best albums of this genre I have heard in while. I strongly suggest you strap on your gauntlets, dust off the studded biker jackets, bow down and submit yourself to the Gravelord.

Tom Lindsey