Toxic Holocaust – From the Ashes of Nuclear Destruction (Relapse)

Toxic Holocaust formed in 1999 in the USA originally as a one man project in the shape of Joel Grind. The band were picked up on their third album by Relapse and to date have released four lps, four eps and contributed more tracks to splits and compilations that collecting their material is a full time job. This is where this album fits in, collecting ten years Toxic Holocaust rarities into one thrash punk overkill of a compilation.

Included on this compilation are tracks that to date have only been available on vinyl. Some of the recordings on this are beyond primitive in both their execution and production but this does not take away from their power once you delve under the murk. The band wears their influences on their sleeve, plenty of nods to the likes of Venom, GBH, Sodom, Motorhead and Discharge.

On offer here are 22 tracks of fairly short and snappy thrashing mania. There is real aggression in these tracks and a chaos that cannot be orchestrated. Amongst the chaos is some credible shredding and catchy songs almost to the point of singalong in “666”.“Created to Kill”is a frenetic workout and puts through as much energy in just over 2 minutes as most bands do in 10. The guitars slice through the speakers with Grind spewing the vocals with an honest viciousness rarely seen nowadays.

The demo material will appease the hardcore completists and it is interesting to hear the comparison to the official releases. According to Grind he likes to fully demo the whole record before hitting the studio; which would suggest there are more nuggets like this in the archives.

It is a great idea for the labels to release this kind of collection for the fan that wants it all but doesn’t have the available funds to get the original pressings. Well done Relapse.

Band Members

Joel Grind – vocals, guitar, bass, drums

Phil Zeller – bass, vocals

Nick Bellmore – drums

Track Listing

01. Intro
02. Metal Attack
03. Deathmaster
04. Created To Kill
05. Ready To Fight
06. Arise From The Cemetery
07. Thrashing Death
08. Send Them To Hell
09. Never Stop The Massacre
10. Army Of One
11. Death Camp
12. Reaper’s Grave
13. Death Brings Death
14. In The Name Of Science
15. Nuke The Cross
16. Suicide Eye
17. 666
18. Bitch
19. Agony Of The Damned
20. A.T.O.M.I.C.
21. We Bring ‘Em Hell
22. Altar-ed States