Toxic Holocaust, Wednesday 7th October

So a few years ago it was announced that Toxic Holocaust would be hitting our shores, to great excitement. Then it was postponed. Then it just sorta dropped of the timetable, being indefinitely put on hold, then it was cancelled. People were pretty pissed, not just because they were hugely disappointed but because of the lack of information. So when earlier this year I got invited to a Toxic Holocaust gig on facebook, I didn’t get my hopes up. Sure enough a few hours later the event was cancelled, but unlike the others it was quickly put back up (good troll guys). So a huge thanks goes to Headless Horseman for pulling this notorious gig off!

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It was a pretty good turn out for an Auckland Wednesday night, perhaps a little on the low side given it was Toxic Fucking Holocaust, but as I found out the day before, fuck all people knew the gig was happening (thanks to a ban on DIY postering), so it was pretty good. First up was local, super solid act Just One Fix which was a nice surprise, as I was under the impression they had broken up. Luckily for Auckland they haven’t, they’re just searching for a drummer and borrowing the drummer from Metal Tower, which means a long trip up to AK for him. Kudos guys, you sound as solid as ever. Next up were Wellington actExecrate who had been lined up to play the original tour (rad that Headless Horseman honoured that, you really are good guys) and they fucking killed. I wasn’t sure I had seen them before, but then the vocals came into play and I remember d. An unforgettable voice and a solid sound, I hope these guys make it up to AK again soon!

Following these two solid starters was BulletBelt, and it was the first time I had seen them without Backyard Burials Ryan, however the new guitarist holds up. Perhaps a bit slower in parts, but that is something that will improve with time. As always its a crowd pleasing performance; My BulletBelt fandom is well documented (stop bringing out awesome new shirts kids!) and despite some pretty major line up changes the sound and energy always impresses. They remain one of my favourite NZ metal bands and my only real complaint is a lack of regular AK gigs; sort it out!

Finally, after literally years of waiting, Toxic Holocaust reach a NZ stage. If not for the valiant efforts of Ross and Steve (Headless Horseman) this gig wouldn’t of happened, and I can’t praise them enough. Of course, the work they have done to save NZ’s reputation abroad is huge, hopefully this will encourage more internationals and remind them that kiwis love and deserve live music after the recent spate of cancellations and low turn outs. But, and this is me climbing on that old hobby horse of mine, guys like Ross and Steve can only do so much. In the recent past I have been ashamed of NZ’s weak arse behaviour and turn out at gigs. Toxic Holocaust had a decent attendance and the crowd was all and all pretty rad, but we can still (and must) do better. We need to show we want and deserve this, because yeah, it’s fucking costly to get bands over here, and if we don’t appreciate it, we’ll get less and less bands. And not seeing Toxic Holocaust would be a fucking tragedy, because these guys were fucking killer. Everything you wanted to see, an amazing depth of sound (especially for a three piece). The drums don’t fade into the background, they dominate with crispness and depth. Its a simple set up, 4 drums + cymbals, but the sound coaxed out of them is heavy as hell, yet fast and clear. The sound is perfection, vocals and drums dominate, the bass and gat deadly and building to the sound, but not overwhelming. Given the trademark colourfulness of the designs Toxic Holocaust uses, the band themselves is surprisingly unassuming. Nothing that you would expect, surprising is the theme of the night. Full of energy, from my perch on the side of the stage I nearly get brained by frontman Joel Grind’s bass (as good a way to go as any) and the crowd picks up on this energy, having a hell of a time (although there was the inevitable front row of amateur cellphone photographers; guys, leave it to the pros, and check out the gallery of amazing photos by Mark Derricutand Damien Neems below). The lyrical content is simple, nothing ground breaking but so much fucking fun no one cares. The guitarist instrument is beautiful, simple and unadorned hardwood, again unexpected; this is a band that rely on the undeniable skill of its members and its paired back perfection. They’re working hard to get the crowd moving and involved, and about a 3^rd of the way through people forget about selfies and start having fun. Its a killer night, and it’s a bummer when it ends (although thank fuck for no contrived fake encore thing, again, this band gets by on skill, not gimmicks). I’m truly impressed and so grateful for the experience, thanks again to everyone who pulled this off. If you are reading this from AUS, make sure you get to one of these gigs, it’s well worth it.

-Tove

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