First thing to say is that this is one of very few (Thrash) albums that I got blown away by after the very first listen. This is an album with great songwriting, excellent performance and amazing vocals. A pearl of a voice that Mike Sanders has got there is impossible to miss. You get hooked to it immediately. He was definitely one of the best vocalists in the eighties, and, if not undiscovered, then unfortunately forgotten - sort of like Christian Augustin of the 80's French combo Sortilège. Speaking of other musicians in the band, Josh Christian is just a guitar master. I suppose he wrote most of the music in the band, and when you look at it, it's just amazing: all the techniques he uses, the mind-blowing, open-minded solos and riffs. I remember listening to this album for the first time, and the solo on "47 Seconds of Sanity/Count Your Blessings" almost made me faint. Only one other solo have ever had the same effect on me, which is the slow solo in "Master of Puppets." "47 Seconds of Sanity" also offers some technical acoustic guitar playing - something you would expect to hear from Al Di Meola, not a Thrash Metal band. And then how can one miss the greatness of the title track with its chromatic riff. It is a very original music piece despite the fact that the famous circus theme was used there. In fact, this thing particularly makes it that original. A similar riff can also be heard a little in "Social Overload" (which almost makes this a concept record
) Well, Toxik really deserves the label of a Technical Thrash Metal band due to Josh Christian. World Circus is a great record, which has just got it all: original songs, commendable performance from each member, and memorable riffs, which all makes it a very enjoyable listen. The production may seem pretty weak, and even if it is, it does not spoil the feel: it's Thrash Metal after all; you can't ruin great riffs with bad production. Anyway, this album is highly recommended for all Thrash fans.
I have this one and "Think This", this album is way better but that doesn't mean that "Think This" wasn't a great effort, cause it was! Anyway, this is such a great piece of Thrash Metal, the solos are insane and the vocals are perfect. Heart Attack is one of my favorite thrash metal songs of all time. 10!
