Band:	Evildead
Album:	Toxic Grace
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	May 2024
A review by:	omne metallum

01. F.A.F.O.
02. Reverie
03. Raising Fresh Hell
04. Stupid On Parade
05. Subjugated Souls
06. Bathe In Fire
07. Poetic Omen
08. World Ov Rats
09. Fear Porn
10. The Death & Resurrection Show 2024 [bonus] [Killing Joke cover]

Lost for words, but still managing to write a review.

It's been a while since I've listened to an album that has left me as nonplussed as Toxic Grace did, trying to find the words to express the written equivalent of putting your head in your hands. I was left wondering what on Earth happened to a band who, just four years ago, put out a record that marked their return in stunning fashion, but have now managed to age themselves far beyond the four years it's taken to release a follow-up album. Toxic Grace has something in common with United $tate$ Of Anarchy at least; it will leave you stunned, though for all the wrong reasons.

Having been a big fan of Evildead, I was hyped to get my ears around another batch of high-quality thrash featuring politically charged lyrics; enduring the last four years did have the upshot that the band were sure to be inspired to deliver some powerful messages. Well, while this paid off, the band seemingly forgot to match these charged messages with an inspired musical backdrop or a powerful performance to drive their points home.

While repeated listens do slowly improve impressions of the album, it isn't the miraculous revival of fortunes I hoped for. Harsh words? Well, with tracks like "Subjugated Souls" and "Poetic Omen", it's hard to resist frisbeeing the CD and settling for hitting the skip button instead. The uninspired riffs and restrained performances just drain what potential these tracks could have, and leave them devoid of redeeming features.

Flores is perhaps the biggest culprit for poor performance; his vocals on "Stupid On Parade" sound like they were recorded next to a children's nursery during nap time, having to keep his voice down so as not to awake anyone. Add into this that the melodies are so bland and pedestrian (see the verses of "Subjugated Souls") that you wonder if they were ab libbed moments before recording.

There are glimpses during which the band seemingly break the malaise and sound inspired; "Fear Porn" is the one track that has replay value, and thus claims the title of best song by default. "Reverie" and "Raising Fresh Hell" are passable, but still pale in comparison to anything off of United $tate$ Of Anarchy.

I had truly wanted to enjoy Toxic Grace, hoping that it could pick up from where the band had left off four years ago. Unfortunately this is far from the case, and this record dents what had been a reputation for high-quality releases up until now. Hopefully Evildead have it within them to give it another go in a few years and right the wrongs made here.