These metalheads from Philippines really created a ripper of an album in Planetary Devastation. While somewhat hidden away compared to their other counterparts Pathogen, Toxemia splashed out 10 tracks of violent death/thrash which, while not always completely memorable or innovative, are really quite impressive, and definitely some of the most brutal.The album mostly consists of high-speed thrash tracks in the vein of Sodom's debut album, or perhaps Slayer and early Sepultura (morbid visions era). A good example of the consistent speed is the violent "Grave Desecrator" which features some of the most furious tempos I've heard in metal.The album closes with a bonus track "Soul Calibre" which once again shows an ever-so-slightly more mature approach to their sound, quite tight in contrast to the almost sloppy presentation on a few of the songs on the album. Vocals are surprisingly quite distinguishable for a Death/thrash band, sounding similar to Max Cavalera of Sepultura but in a slightly more abrasive manner. The song's 'verses' have a slightly unstructured feel vocally, as he seems to shout his lines in an almost "random" way. This seems to work the majority of the time, but there are moments in which it seems slightly off.The production is pretty rough, but clear enough. The chainsaw-like buzz of the guitars is at times over-powered by the drums, which tend to echo a fair bit. Apart from these factors it sounds fairly clean. This is a fast, abrasive and extreme band for sure.
toxemia.bravesites.com
the3rdinferno.blogspot.com
Review by Paul Caravasi
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