Review by Felix on December 7, 2020.

The ever-busy guy that runs Dying Victims Productions has thrown another underground act into the arena and my first impression was that Toxikull does not lack energy. Definitely not! The title track bursts out of my speakers like… I don’t know. If energy would be able to explode, the detonation would exactly sound like this manifesto of speed metal. It’s a great start into an album that avoids tiring prefaces, long explanations and other frippery. Eight songs and two intros shape a work with a playtime of 33 minutes. This is long enough for a full-length and short enough to follow the compositions without any loss of attention. And, by the way, the comparatively mediocre 'Helluminate', the only piece that crosses the five minutes mark, shows that the guys are well advised to keep things lean. The riffing of this song is pretty cool, but the silken and lame guitar solo and the stupid fade-out lack spirit and bring the track to an under-average end. No other detail of 'Helluminate' has the power to make up for this.

Speed metal is a somewhat dubious genre, because sometimes it presents pretty light tone sequences of narcissistic guitar heroes who have gone haywire. Equally crazy lead singers accompany them with eunuch-like voices. The sad result is that even “Painkiller” Rob H. misses “a touch of evil”. By the way, the Halford of Toxikull calls himself Lex Thunder (not to be confused with Old Shatterhand, Lex Barker) and his voice also hovers at dizzying heights, but it does not lack curriness. Okay, during the closer he sporadically sounds like King Diamond, but he uses his normal pitch as well and this approach lends the songs an extra portion of power. Speaking of power, it goes more or less without saying that power metal elements play their part on Cursed and Punished as well. The promo speaks of Toxikull (whenever I write this name, I have the feeling that two letters are missing between the “i” and the “k”) as a modern version of Helstar or Liege Lord and this is, despite my general mistrust concerning promo texts, exceptionally true. 'Killer Night' emphasises this facet of the band’s sound and it shows impressively that Toxikull are able to manage mid-tempo songs in a clever manner. The song sounds like it was stolen from the archive of Trauma where they have hidden the material that due to whatever reasons did not find the way on “Scratch and Scream”. This is pure traditional metal, offered in a fresh and vital way.

Production-wise, the old school feeling takes centre stage. The eighties, oh my God, the golden eighties… guess this decade will never die. Honestly speaking, I believe that my calendar is a bloody liar, because it wants me to believe that the eighties are gone for more than three decades…? Bullshit - Toxikull from Portugal proves the opposite. But wait, as far as I know, the beautiful Iberian Peninsula belongs to another time zone than good old Germany. I did not know that the difference is that high, but it’s never too late to learn. However, the full-length has a voluminous, warm and somehow analogue sound that fits the musical offering very well.

All in all, Toxikull’s second album suffers from the kitschy artwork and two or three pretty melodic parts that dwell in the neighbourhood of the well cleaned streets where childish Helloween metal is lurking around the corner. However, when taking a look at the big picture, the quartet doubtlessly enriches the global speed / power / traditional metal scene. Late jewels like 'Dark Glory' or 'Speed Blood Metal' (I am very happy that they avoid stereotypes successfully…) make clear that these genres do not deserve to be placed in the slightly dusty corners of the metal hall of fame.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 9, 2019.

Korgonthurus originate from Finland and they see definitely no reason to hide this fact. Consequently, they play black metal. But is it really country-specific black metal? Maybe not, because the songs have a strong affinity for melancholic, desperate or crestfallen sections. It is out of question that the band also knows the meaning of high-speed eruptions, but they are not the dominating element here. The pretty strong title track, always the first candidate that comes to my mind when looking for a representative song of an album, starts with the power of an iced whip which is swung by a berserk, but it houses less aggressive sections as well. Korgonthurus connect different aspects of the subgenre and, moreover, they feel free to add nuances of another genre. From time to time, the vocalist contributes some death metal growls which seem to come directly out of the mausoleum. Nevertheless, his ardent screaming prevails.

Despite the pretty opulent average playtime (seven songs in almost 49 minutes), the tracks do not suffer from (over-)complexity. The musicians are fans of their own leads, lines and riffs with the effect that a tinge of repetitiveness cannot be denied. Every now and then, the band is able to create a strong degree of atmospheric density, but it is also true that some parts do nothing but offering ordinary guitars that fail to captivate the audience. Blatantly obvious influences like those of Burzum during the closer do not automatically lead to new milestones. After having learnt how to master an instrument, how to play together with other dudes, how to read music and how to compose a song, one thing is still missing – the creative inspiration. Vuohen Siunaus does not need to bow its head due to a number of severe mistakes, but it cannot expect thunderous applause as well. Let me come back to the closer, a song with a length of more than 14 minutes, but a substance for, well, let’s say seven or eight minutes. Not a difficult task to realize the difference, right? Its overlong ending, I guess it makes no sense to beat around the bush, is just boring. Perhaps this ending wants to embody the band’s understanding of endless pain (and we should never forget that endless pain means nothing else than being locked up with Mille P. in a stinking cell), but it remains on a mediocre – or should I say uninspired? - level.

The production is okay. The guitars convey both icy coldness and profound heaviness. In spite of their power, the vocals do not fall by the wayside. The drums and even the bass are not marginalized as well. This is still an underground production, no doubt at all, but it shows that the term underground is no synonym for amateurish. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the mix cannot make up the song-writing deficiencies. This means that Vuohen Siunaus has to take its seat in the second or third row of the Finnish black metal theatre. Too many sections are not thought through and so the bloodcurdling elements cannot turn the tide for the better. The album is no flop, but I fear that it is fighting a losing battle in view of the legions of (more) competent competitors.

Rating: 6.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 9, 2019.

Korgonthurus originate from Finland and they see definitely no reason to hide this fact. Consequently, they play black metal. But is it really country-specific black metal? Maybe not, because the songs have a strong affinity for melancholic, desperate or crestfallen sections. It is out of question that the band also knows the meaning of high-speed eruptions, but they are not the dominating element here. The pretty strong title track, always the first candidate that comes to my mind when looking for a representative song of an album, starts with the power of an iced whip which is swung by a berserk, but it houses less aggressive sections as well. Korgonthurus connect different aspects of the subgenre and, moreover, they feel free to add nuances of another genre. From time to time, the vocalist contributes some death metal growls which seem to come directly out of the mausoleum. Nevertheless, his ardent screaming prevails.

Despite the pretty opulent average playtime (seven songs in almost 49 minutes), the tracks do not suffer from (over-)complexity. The musicians are fans of their own leads, lines and riffs with the effect that a tinge of repetitiveness cannot be denied. Every now and then, the band is able to create a strong degree of atmospheric density, but it is also true that some parts do nothing but offering ordinary guitars that fail to captivate the audience. Blatantly obvious influences like those of Burzum during the closer do not automatically lead to new milestones. After having learnt how to master an instrument, how to play together with other dudes, how to read music and how to compose a song, one thing is still missing – the creative inspiration. Vuohen Siunaus does not need to bow its head due to a number of severe mistakes, but it cannot expect thunderous applause as well. Let me come back to the closer, a song with a length of more than 14 minutes, but a substance for, well, let’s say seven or eight minutes. Not a difficult task to realize the difference, right? Its overlong ending, I guess it makes no sense to beat around the bush, is just boring. Perhaps this ending wants to embody the band’s understanding of endless pain (and we should never forget that endless pain means nothing else than being locked up with Mille P. in a stinking cell), but it remains on a mediocre – or should I say uninspired? - level.

The production is okay. The guitars convey both icy coldness and profound heaviness. In spite of their power, the vocals do not fall by the wayside. The drums and even the bass are not marginalized as well. This is still an underground production, no doubt at all, but it shows that the term underground is no synonym for amateurish. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the mix cannot make up the song-writing deficiencies. This means that Vuohen Siunaus has to take its seat in the second or third row of the Finnish black metal theatre. Too many sections are not thought through and so the bloodcurdling elements cannot turn the tide for the better. The album is no flop, but I fear that it is fighting a losing battle in view of the legions of (more) competent competitors.

Rating: 6.8 out of 10