Album review: TOXICROSE – Total Tranquility

August 25th, 2016 by david.wilson

City Of Light Records [Release date 16.05.16 ]

Toxicrose hail from Stockholm in Sweden and were formed back in 2010. Melodic metal is the order of the day here, sound wise the band remind me of Black Veil Brides but image wise they resemble a mix of early WASP mixed with Motley Crue and a bit of prime Slayer. Big hair, leather and spiked codpieces are all in place, they certainly look metal!

The music is heavy but accessible, verging on the power metal at times. Tracks like ‘Sinner’ and ‘We Own The Night’ are good, singalong anthems, the latter actually reminded me of Manowar. There is a power ballad included in the shape of ‘Because Of You’ which features some good harmonies and the required ‘big chorus’.

One element of the band that doesn’t quite hit the mark for me though is frontman Andy. He has a limited vocal range and this leads to the vocal being rather monotone and droning over the course of the album.

Vocals aside, this is a solid debut album for the band and if they can tap into the kind of audience that consider Black Veil Brides hard and heavy then they should do well. ***

Review by Dave Wilson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)