If you thought Rage Against The Machine was hair-tearing wicked, you’re going to place these guys on a high altar.
Toxicity, like their namesake, is in-your-face raucous and full of the kind of nastiness you’d love to love. Strictly loud, supersonically fast, they’re a genre all by themselves, speeding from metal-laced fuselage with staccato sounds, then dipping abruptly into long lusty lyrics. This is their second album, spilling over with political innuendo and allusions to all things dark and grimy.
The opening “Prison Song” doesn’t get more opinionated than this, and introduces you to the tempo of the following thirteen tracks. “Needles” and “Deer Dance”, like some of the others, flow seamlessly into each other, imitating a common strain. “Chop Seuy” is a favourite, and bears sly, though distinct connotations to a religious faith. Some of the numbers are clearly indicative of the band’s Armenian roots, even the vocals dip and surface in characteristic Middle-Eastern manner…when they’re not screaming their heads off, that is.
Mainstream listeners might find this offensive, but the dutifully different will want a piece of it!
This article was first published on 14 Feb 2002.