Joel Grind has been rocking out some simple yet effective blackened-speed metal with a very prominent punk influence for a little over a decade now.  Following two excellent full-length albums on which he played every instrument, the tasks of bass and drums were delegated to some worthy folks to create an actual band which released 2008’s Relapse Records debut An Overdose of Death…, a less successful album that possessed the cleanest, most powerful production yet, but failed to excite in the same way the previous releases had.  The album also felt like a bit of a thinly veiled attempt to grasp at the successes enjoyed by many of the bands taking part in the thrash metal revival, a movement which, ironically, Toxic Holocaust had a lot to do with the formation of.   Sophomore album for Relapse, Conjure and Command delivers another healthy dose of gnarly apocalyptic thrash sure to appeal to the band’s fans despite a couple changes to the Toxic formula.

Right from the blistering opener “Judgment Awaits You”, and again on album highlight “Bitch” it becomes almost immediately apparent that Grind has significantly enhanced the metal side of Toxic Holocaust’s sound and indeed, throughout the album the punk influence seems subdued resulting in a much more traditional thrash metal feel.  A distinctly classic Slayer influence is in evidence on tracks like “Red Winter” and “Revelations” while “The Liars are Burning” with its sleazy swagger amusingly reminds a bit of Laaz Rockit believe it or not.  A couple forays into slower paced material unfortunately don’t always excite in the same manner as the more up-tempo tracks, and there are definitely less catchy choruses than on previous releases, but the album seems like one you’d want to make sure to have in the car as a soundtrack to some aggressive road battles.  All said, Conjure and Command is a solid thrash record that seems to recapture some of the underground appeal sacrificed on the last release, and fans of the band as well as folks that don’t have a stick up their ass about modern bands playing in the classic thrash style will definitely enjoy. 

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Judgment Awaits You
2.  Agony of the Damned
3.  Bitch
4.  Red Winter
5.  Nowhere to Run
6.  I Am Disease
7.  In the Depths (of Your Mind)
8.  The Liars are Burning
9.  Revelations
10.  Sound the Charge

Total playing time:  32:09

Release Date: July 19, 2011
Label: Relapse Records

Toxic Holocaust - Conjure and Command

July 28, 2011

Reviewer: J. A. Burt