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: First off, yes, Andrei did the artwork for our most recent release, Chemistry Of Consciousness, so I’ll admit I’m a little biased, but this is no shameless plug. Andrei has been doing cover art and illustration for countless bands over the years, and he has a style that I find really fun to admire. His use of color, detail and cleverness takes his representation of things like religion, post-apocalyptic wartime madness and metal-punk hell and makes them culminate into something I find visually … fun. (Sorry, Andrei, if that’s the wrong word to describe.) His approach to detail and perspective I find perpetually mind-blowing. I could stare at his paintings for hours.
