Review by Andy Houghton for MPM
ToxicRose are a Swedish sleaze metal band who have been around for over a decade, although you can be forgiven if you’ve not heard them before, as they’re only released two studio albums during that time: 2016’s ‘Total Tranquillity’, and now ‘In For The Kill’, their sophomore album.
They’ve had a small change in personnel since last time – Johannes Sandberg has replaced Goran Imperator on bass – but otherwise the line-up, and their sound, is pretty much unchanged.
Things get off to a promising start with ‘Blood On Blood’, in which the band tell us to ‘Get ready for domination’ (the concept of world domination seems to be a bit of a thing with these guys, but why not aim high, eh?).
It’s fast-paced and punchy, with the band’s signature sleazy/glam sound, and contains a tidy teaser of a guitar solo courtesy of Tom Wouda.
From a vocal perspective, Andy Lipstixx has a voice that’s tailor-made for this kind of material – suitably gritty, and with just enough power to rise above the instrumentals.
Album standouts include anthemic title track ‘In For The Kill’, with its catchy chorus and some more great work on guitar from Wouda, and the epic ‘Angel’, with a 7+ minute running time that gives the band ample opportunity to demonstrate their symphonic metal credentials. It’s a stunner of a track, with melodic twists and turns that’ll keep you engaged as the track steadily builds towards a firestorm of a crescendo.
‘Domination’ is also worthy of a mention, with its unexpected shift to staccato guitar work two-thirds of the way through, as is the bonus track ‘Not Afraid’, which punctuates the hard-hitting metal with some delicate work on keyboards.
‘In For The Kill’ is an impressive second album from ToxicRose, and one that’s been worth the five year wait. The creativity on display shows that is so much more than just a sleaze metal band, and the energy of their performance suggests that their live gigs must be a blast. Recommended.
Line-up:
Andy Lipstixx | Lead vocals
Tom Wouda | Guitar & backing vocals
Johannes Sandberg | Bass & backing vocals
Michael Sweet |Drums & backing vocals
Tracklisting:
- Blood On Blood
- Heroes
- In For The Kill
- Remedy
- Angel
- Outta Time
- Domination
- Open Up
- New Breed
- Great Escape
- (Bonus) Not Afraid
‘In For The Kill’ was released on September 24th, 2021
TOXICROSE Online: Website: http://www.toxicrose.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TOXICROSE.Of…
Instagram: http://instagram.com/toxicrose/
