Rejoice, all ye thrash fans and revivalists. Toxic Holocaust has released a new record, and it is everything you’ve come to know (and hopefully love) about the Portland, Oregon assaulters.

Let’s not mince words; Toxic Holocaust aren’t innovators of the genre -- they aren’t redefining crossover thrash. What they bring to the table is stripped down, crust punk-like thrashiness that teeters on the edge of hardcore. Think bands like Discharge and Krömosom while maintaining the aggressive speed of Kreator. Throw in some early black metal influence (Bathory and Venom, anyone?) and you’ve got the backbone of Toxic Holocaust.

This new album, Chemistry of Consciousness, is their fifth full-length, and features some of the most stripped-down, filthy, and vicious crossover meeting black metal meeting crust punk tracks. Right from the opening track, “Awaken the Serpent”, Toxic Holocaust pulls no punches; the Swedish crust influence shines through, held together by the Bay Area thrash sound. The band leaves very little room to breathe, opting for an all-out attack instead of getting overly technical. Joel Grind’s vocals are raw and ripped, spewing lyrics like bile being expelled from the body. “Salvation is Waiting” contains darker, leaner parts from “Angel of Death” off Reign in Blood, mixing in some Haunting the Chapel-like eerie guitar sounds. The track moves from a two-step groove into a full-scale thrash jam, then segues back into the two-step breakdown. Probably the most interesting track due to the sheer brutality and assortment of influence, “Salvation is Waiting” is nearly three minutes of destruction, hell-bent on delivering driving, merciless sounds and never letting the foot off the gas pedal.

The album does tend to wane thin towards the end. Some of the tracks unfortunately bleed together (like “Deny the Truth” and “Mkultra”), leaving a dizzying feeling, quite possibly the side effect of listening to the band in high doses. However, Chemistry of Consciousness is a rage-inducing assault; an album certainly worthy to thrash out to. There’s no use weeding through the album with a fine-toothed comb; Toxic Holocaust’s attack is pretty straightforward, but sometimes, that isn’t such a bad thing.

Bill Haff

Band info: www.facebook.com/ToxicHolocaust
Label info: www.relapse.com

Editor-in-Chief at Scratch the Surface, Bill Haff is a Philadelphia-based music critic who also contributes for Cvlt Nation, Metal Injection and Ghost Cult. You can follow him on Twitter at @bill_haff

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If you’re reading this webzine and you don’t know who Skeletonwitch are, you need to reconsider everything about your life. For 10 years now these Ohio boys have been putting in the hard work and have become one of the most respected bands in metal. One could say metal fans have formed a bond with the band as strong as a marriage built on love, trust and communication. We love Skeletonwitch and they love us. This is fact. We can trust that every couple years Skeletonwitch will release a killer album. And as for communication, these relentless road dogs provide ample opportunity to chat them up as they rack up the miles to play just about everywhere. The traditional gift for a 10 year anniversary is aluminum, so buy the guys some cans of beer already! Or at the very least buy Serpents Unleashed, the ‘Witch’s new firestorm of super-heated, flesh-rending metal. Is that title a euphemism?

For 11 tracks averaging just under three minutes each, Chance Garnette (vocals), Nate Garnette (guitar), Scott Hedrick (guitar), Evan Linger (bass) and Dustin Boltjes (drums) plow their way through your speakers with all the force they exhibit in the live environment. Kurt Ballou’s production brings out all the clarity of the four talented musicians as well as all the horror inherent in Chance’s phlegm-wracked rasp. What really stands out is the footwork of Boltjes. That furious double-kick is spot on every time. Absolutely flawless. Coupled with his partner-in-rhythmic-crime, Linger, that end of things holds up on par with the twin guitar attack of “N8 Feet” and “Scunty D”. That pair has shared a little more of the writing duties on this go ‘round and it’s blatantly obvious they are operating on the same tight wavelength.

On Serpents Unleashed, Skeletonwitch do what they do best. Blistering rhythms abound at full sprint without knocking the sense out of you. By which I mean the riffs are very, very memorable. Especially on tracks like “Burned from Bone” and “I Am of Death”. The latter slowing the pace a bit so the melodies really show through. As pummeling as Skeletonwitch can be, there’s always that catchiness. The blackening of their thrash/NWOBHM is most apparent on “This Evil Embrace”, which oozes atmosphere during its opening moments, and via the windswept tremolos on “Born of the Light That Does Not Shine”.

Serpents Unleashed takes what Skeletonwitch is to the next level. They’re leaders among men at what can best be described as simply “metal”. Undeniably quality metal. Until next time, do as Chance says and “Drink beer! Smoke weed! And eat pussy!”

Matt Hinch 

Band info: www.facebook.com/skeletonwitchmetal
Label info: www.prostheticrecords.com

Matt Hinch lives an unassuming life on the backroads outside Forest Mills, Ontario, Canada. He packs in as much metal as he possible can amid factory work, raising three daughters with his wife and working the land. In addition to Scratch the Surface Matt also writes for Hellbound, Ghost Cult Magazine, About Heavy Metal and his own blog, Kingdom of Noise. Keep up with him on Twitter @MetalMatt_KofN.

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It's about bloody time! It's only been three years since Chicago’s Lair of the Minotaur released their fourth album "Evil Power", but for fans like myself that seems like forever.
Unfortunately, “Godslayer” is just an EP featuring two songs, specially conceived for Record Store Day set to happen on April 20th, but damn, this still is another hammer to the face, delivered with even more venom and malice than the last time. Just over eight minutes of raw, ugly and brutal metal that rages with the ferocity of a ravenous beast, “Godslayer” finds Lair of the Minotaur at their rampaging best. The title track sees them going straight for the jugular with a mix of “Reign In Blood” imperious riffing and the straightforward, powerful drive of Motörhead. The crushing chainsaw riffs of Steven Rathbone slay absolutely everything in their path, while drummer Chris Wozniak beats the crap out of his drum kit like an out-of-control lunatic. The other track, "The Black Heart of the Stygian Drakonas", charges out of the gate in Motörhead-style with heavy, powerful riffs that are rawer than the flesh ripped from a still warm carcass by a vulture.
Now Mr. Rathbone, stop fooling around with these small teasers and put your hands to work on a new full-length effort, which is essentially what all your fans are eagerly waiting for. 

Band info: www.lairoftheminotaur.com
Label info: www.thegrind-houserecords.com

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