When a friend heard I was going to see Toxic Holocaust, his response was understandable: “What the heck is Toxic Holocaust?”
It’s a fair question. After all, to those not already immersed in the metal scene, a lot of the band names might sound a bit strange or shocking and really, that’s entirely the point. With a name like Toxic Holocaust, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect going in.
Though I’d imagine that even if someone did manage to make their way into the venue without knowing a single thing about the band, one look at frontman Joel Grind would make things clear that this was a thrash metal show. With a headband over his long, bleach blonde hair and a cutoff denim vest with a “Speed Metal” patch on the back, Grind certainly looks the part. And if you were somehow still confused, the drumhead emblazoned with the words “Toxic Thrash Metal” would be a dead giveaway.
The Portland three-piece are currently on tour with Soulfly in support of their latest effort Primal Future:2019, a concept album centred around a dystopian society, though their set focused mostly on older material, with tracks such as “Wild Dogs”, “666” and “Nuke The Cross” getting the biggest response. Not that the crowd was at all shy about showing their appreciation the rest of the time either, with a pit erupting pretty much from the first second the band started playing opening number “Gravelord” and continuing throughout the entirety of the band’s high energy set.
“Holy shit, you guys came to party!” exclaimed Grind.
Indeed they did. What else are you gonna do in this primal future we’re all living in?