One of the most underrated bands in thrash metal also has one of the shortest careers in heavy metal history. Many have followed a similar pattern where they let out all their talent on one album before disbanding forever including the Sex Pistols and Control Denied.
Toxik was able to stick it out for two records during the late 80’s and early 90’s following a lengthy hiatus like so many groups had done back in those days. Thankfully, those two records proved to stand the test of time as some of the best thrash metal ever made.
World Circus was the debut that established the technical playing of founding member Josh Christian and the air raid siren vocals of Mike Sanders. But after yet another lineup change, Charles Sabin and John Donnelly were the latest additions to the band and just in time for their follow up release: Think This.
This time it took the songwriting in a more political direction. Instead of describing an anonymous tragedy destroying the human race, the focus was aimed at real danger like foreign wars, media narratives, and American consumption. This theme made Think This a very consistent concept album surrounding the stories and agendas being pushed through television in the U.S.
As the title suggests, the endgame is to persuade the American audience what to think and it’s the perfect topic for a heavy metal album.
Opening with the epic title track, listeners might be surprised by the vocal effect, but it only lasts a few words before being introduced to the unfiltered range of Sabin’s pipes.
Greed begins with a fitting audio clip from the movie Wall Street and unleashes on the self-centered ambitions of topping the Forbes billionaire list. This topic also relates to the overall message of American consumers chasing a dream that is often bound to fail. Whether it’s trying to become rich or putting faith in a televangelist. Both involve the power and influence that comes from the advice told through television.
Spontaneous doubles down on American politics by foreshadowing the future of regime change in the Middle East. Beginning with one of the most impressive intros in thrash metal, spanning the first minute and a half, it only gets better and pays off with the infectious chorus which also exposes some of the darkest truths about war and economics.
Because of the incredible vocal capacity of Sabin and intricate guitar duo by Christian and Donnelly, Toxik’s polished sound on Think This can be compared to Queensrÿche in terms of musicianship as well as songwriting. The attention to detail is also notable from the brief audio of channel switching and commercials at the start of the songs to the appropriately titled “Side Think, Side That” labeled on the CD.
The other amazing aspect of Toxik is the amount of melody found throughout the album. Sabin’s isolated singing could easily stand against any pop singer while perfectly fusing with the speed metal tempo of the rhythm section. For those who find difficulty adapting to the thrash metal genre, the safest bet is listening to There Stood The Fence which serves as the only ballad and adds more depth to the music as a whole. There’s plenty of mid-paced anthems including Machine Dream which could be the ultimate radio song on catchiness alone.
Think This ends with a soothing instrumental called Think That similar to Anthrax‘s Breathing Out track from their 2016 release, For All Kings.
This turned out to be the final release from Toxik until 2016’s Breaking Class EP became publicly available. A superb comeback for a group that desperately needs to share their talent with the rest of the metal scene in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, the quartet disbanded 3 years after Think This, but not before leaving fans with some of the most memorable thrash metal from the darkest depths of obscurity.
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