Luckily a lot of there bands revived in the new Millennium. Toxik carefully did so in 2007, but fully returned in 2013. They released an EP ‘In Humanity’ (vocals by Mike Sanders), followed by an EP ‘Breaking Glass’ (2017) with Charles Sabin as lead vocalist. These EP’s weren’t easily obtainable (mostly at the band’s gigs), so No Dust Records releasing both of them, combined with tre-recorded songs ‘Kinetic Closure’ and 2 additional new tracks in an amazing boxset (2018) was a great move. I remember getting the box before Josh even did so and I shared audio samples via Messenger with him, because he was so curious of the sound of it (Heavy as Hell it was!). On ‘Kinetic Closure’ Ron Iglesias was introduced, who has been the lead singer eversince.

Finally the third full-length album ‘Dis Morta’ (no less than 33 years after their last album ‘Think This’) will be released soon. They understood the importance of this album and have therefore (“assisted” by the COVID-pandemic) taken their time for it. Firstly noticed is the crystal clear sound, fitting perfectly with the more speedy and progressive tracks. Argentinian Martin Furia (also known as guitar player at Bark and Destruction) is responsible for mixing. Opening track ‘Dis Morta’ has an accruing intro followed by Ron’s howl leading to a speed up. What a great start! This chorus will linger for a long time. The track could have lasted longer, in my opinion, to contain even more.

The following track ‘Feeding Frenzy’ sounds familiar and would have suited on ‘World Circus’. Josh Christian shows a lot of speed and technique on this one again. On ‘The Radical’ and ‘Power’ (which may very well turn into a live hit) James DeMaria on drums noticeably fills the holes professionally. He joined the band in 2016 and also plays drums at Heathen, since 2020.

‘Hyper Reality’ features a lot of pace switches and has a somewhat jazzy-fusion sound. Typically a track that needs a few times listening to. ‘Creating the Abyss’ is released on YouTube, the second song after ‘Power’. Special attention for the following track: ‘Straight Razor’ is an instant classic! The track has equal qualities to ‘Heart Attack’ (World Circus): ultrafast riffs and a chorus that’ll stick with you for a couple of days. You can take a breather at ‘Chasing Mercury’: a midtempo track with a beautiful high-pitched vocal by Ron. Also Shane Boulos’s enjoyable bass loops are nicely reflected in this track.

The start of ‘Devil in the Mirror’ could be mistaken for a Savatage track, but after about a minute the riff will blow your speaker and the pace picks up. This is my personal favourite, as well as ‘Straight Razor’. The album gracefully ends with the speedy track ‘Judas’ and after a little over 44 minutes you’re going to need some time to recover from this rollercoaster.

You will discover something new every time you listen to it. ‘Dis Morta’ is therefore the perfect successor of ‘Think This’ and Toxik should be proud of this result. This album will get top-positions on a lot of annual lists, and rightfully so. Buy now or regret later! The album will be released on August 5th at Massacre Records and will be available digitally, in digipack and on (coloured) vinyl. 

This review has been translated by IDS