Review Summary: Toxic Holocaust come back reminding old dudes of the glory days of Thrash
Toxic Holocaust are probably one of the best of the new Thrash Metal bands in the new metal scene. This is one of the bands that knows how to get the riffs right. Joel Grind may have a multitude of projects under his studded belt, but Toxic Holocaust is the one that stands out the most. Hell On Earth is the second release from the one-man thrash project and is far better than the debut, Evil Never Dies. The production is a hell of a lot better and it seems more inspired than the last release too.
Hell On Earth is full tight riffs and above average songwriting. Joel Grind draws influence from Slayer, Venom, and a number of old-school hardcore bands. The guitars are more on the punk side of Grind's musical influences and they blast at full-speed. At first, it may seem that the riffs are a little generic, but they're executed better than most of the bands in this genre. This album is one of the few Toxic Holocaust releases to actually have guitar solos too. Bobby Burns of the Misfits plays an excellent solo on here. The bass is pretty much buried in the mix and the drums are nothing to snuff at. He plays standard thrash drumming that you might hear on an early Metallica record.
The vocals are just absolutely outstanding on here. Grind does a mix of Black Metal screech and Thrash Metal shout, making him stand out amongst the crowd of Paul Baloff rip-offs. His vocals immediately command your attention and they would make the hairs on your mother's neck stand up. He has a bark more suited for Black Metal, but it fits just right in with the Thrash. The vocals do have a drawback. Like 98% of Thrash, none of the vocals have melody whatsoever. It's pretty tuneless if you ask me. Also, the vocals aren't very accessible to those weaned on more traditional metal like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
Overall, This is a master exercise in generating nostalgia amongst old-school metal fans and drawing in newcomers too. Thrash fans will be reminded of Slayer-Show No Mercy era mixed in with Venom and a little bit of Testament too. Their next album, however, would become the masterpiece of Toxic Holocaust
