With the new Chemistry Of Consciousness (Relapse), frontman Joel Grind expands the Toxic Holocaust sound, explodes it with color and textures that seem more vibrant than the none-more-blackness of 2011’s Conjure And Command. The speed and righteous indignation of artists like Discharge and G.B.H. combine with the massive mixdown and mastering by heavy-music maven and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, creating a juggernaut of an album, a record that fires on all cylinders all the time. “Awaken The Serpent,” “Mkultra” and “Out Of The Fire” smack the listener upside the head like the wayward boot of an especially surly crowd surfer. Bassist Phil Zeller will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our recent Toxic Holocaust feature.
Zeller: I mentioned before that I wanted to get away from the usual metal-dude cliches of only liking horror, etc. Well, now I bring up a movie that is the quintessential cliche of an ’80s t-and-a college movie. I still remember seeing this for the first time and having my parents blocking my eyes and ears for the naughty parts. In the many, many years since, I can say without doubt that I have seen this classic hundreds of times. I can literally recite every line. I guess this would partially explain my downright dumb sense of humor. Not really much else to explain here as if you’ve never watched it, you probably live under a rock.
