Toxocara - AtmosFear

I have to admit, I loved this band’s debut effort, I found Toxocara to be one of leading hopes for Dutch death metal. To my surprise, this is their third album. Another album and a few line-up changes have simply passed me by.

Toxocara have introduced a lot more depth to their sound this time around, there is a lot more experimentation, more sound bites, effects used and genre crossing statements of outstanding technical ability. But have no fear, the bare bones of extreme death metal still reign supreme. Take tracks like ‘Towards the Perpetual Labyrinth’; this is both blisteringly technical and brutally honest in its approach. Finding their unique selling point is the hybrid sound produced, it is processed, but the standard guitar, bass, drum influences really make this sound become its own. The vocals are guttural but decipherable, backed with a thundering kick drum sound, hmm, this warms your heart just that little bit, even if you do hear some black metal elements rearing their head, but with riffing and guitar sweeps like those on ‘Black Widow’, I cannot really think of anything major to pick fault with. There is a subtle synth sound, it adds atmosphere, but some purists won’t like it I suppose, but it actually works well. ‘Annihilation by the Ankar’ is dangerously close to getting into groove metal, if it were not for the vocal and rapid time changes, things could have been worrying. This is much more down the blackened death metal path, the thing I really find entertaining about this track, and release in general. To make things interesting, Toxocara change things up, whether this be the tempo, time signature of overall pace, this band have a knack for making their arrangements interesting and keeping any fan gripped with excitement.

This is an admirable and effective effort, I am still in favour of the early material, but what I have heard here makes for a pleasurable listening experience. The development and clear level of high musicianship makes a statement in today’s oversaturated marketplace, this is a step up to the next level, and ‘AtmosFear’ is certainly worth taking a gamble upon, this band are ready and willing to compete with some of the big hitters that this music genre has to offer, a commendable improvement.

                                                                                                                                                                   Track Listing:

1. Atmosphere
2. Black Widow
3. Annihilation By The Ankar (Marionettes Of War)
4. Confessions Of The Black Regiment
5. Moryty Holodom (Holodomor)
6. Bravo Two Zero
7. Flashlight Shadows
8. Towards The Perpetual Labyrinth
9. The Kempeitai Hordes Of Hirohito
10. The Red House Report