Review by Felix on October 3, 2023.

It is not very difficult to characterize Toxic Holocaust. Their albums, at least those which had been released between 2003 and 2013, are always fiery, sharp and primitive, but never really adventurous. Each and every song is full of poison and meanness, speed and aggression, but over the distance of a (usually pretty short) full-length, it cannot be ignored that their compositions are somewhat flat. The lack of depth is probably the reason why their outputs always fail to have a long lasting effect on me. This is a pity, because their riffs are mostly pretty sharp (“Bitch”) and sometimes the guys add a menacing touch (“Agony of the Damned”, “I Am Disease”) which is cool, too. But main man and sole composer Joel Grind seems to be a bit limited when it comes to his good yet one-dimensional songwriting skills. Predictability is a word that comes to my mind whenever I listen to Toxic Holocaust albums in view of his almost formulaic approach.

“Conjure and Command” is no exception. I enjoy it for what it is, a nice 32 minutes infusion with blackened thrash metal including a few punk vibes. There are no atmospheric or acoustic segments, Toxic Holocaust swing the axes and attack nearly restlessly. Tempo variations lend the work a dynamic appearance and the technical abilities are out of doubt. Joel’s voice conveys some Cronos vibes from time to time (one again: “I Am Disease”) while he is spitting fire the whole time. More or less everything is cool here, but interchangeable at the same time. That’s the reason why I cannot tell you the names of my highlights. There are ten songs on the same level. Never weak, lame or boring, but also never outstanding, never with an extraordinary configuration and always without the grain of insane lawlessness which can make a difference.

The production matches the musical way of proceeding. It has a mangy undertone due to the pretty cool guitar sound. Moreover, it gives you the feeling of listening to somehow dirty music, although the mix itself does not lack clarity. On the other hand, this kind of flawless production also does not give the material a higher individuality. But perhaps I am just too critical and I set the bar too high? Anyhow, if I think of albums that could have been an inspiration for modern age hating Joel, for example Nuclear Assault’s “Game Over” or Venom’s “Black Metal”, I see a big difference in terms of character, personality and impact. These albums have withstood the test of time with great ease. “Conjure and Command” can make you happy during its playtime and that’s fine, yes, but that’s all. (And the DVD is okay but without relevance, from my point of view. Music is for the ears, not for the eyes.)

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by JD on December 27, 2011.

How many different styles of metal can one act get into their music - a question that oddly enough comes up once in a while in my circles. Some bands combine two or three styles with ease, while other go for broke and add a whole shit load into one. The results can either be amazing or just a hunk of noise with no direction.

Portland’s Toxic Holocaust seems to be a band that jams every imaginable style of heavier music into their sound. Old School Thrash, Older Black, Speed, Punk, bits of Death dot the bands musical landscape and is mixed lovingly into a ‘toxic’ soup of what they were listening to and ended up putting out there on four albums and many splits as possible. The results are a journey all metallers can relate to.

In listening to the album, it strikes a cord as it shows where metal has come from. It is a true representation of metal from the 80's, some 90's and even newer shit into one. It may sound like all of that, but it really shows that sound is still relevant and fresh as it was back in the day. The victory is that Toxic Holocaust blends it all and truly shines. One listen to a song like either 'Agony Of The Damned' or 'Red Winter', clearly showcases that old styles of metal is not obsolete or relevant. It is bullshit - it is and clearly will be for years to come.

You can't go wrong when a band has the confidence to show where they have come from and the balls to announce where they are going. Toxic Holocaust may play all of the old school side of Thrash/Speed Metal - but for all of us, it means that we are still going forward because we have to balls to take what we already have made and make it better and fresh. Sounds easy to pull off, but it is not in any stretch of the imagination. Take it from this old Headbanger, a hard journey reaps many rewards.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10