Crossover/Thrash
This Charming Man Records
Released – April 3rd 2026
Review By Smudge Smith
Do not confuse this Toxic Shock with the four others knocking about. This bunch of hardcore thrashers come from Belgium and have been around since 2010, and this is their third full length album.
They don’t hang about getting to the point on the intro – ‘Into The Garden Of Grief’ which sets their stall out early with some raw punchy hardcore for two and a half minutes before they get going in earnest on the pounding ‘Reborn’ where they bring to mind the superb Power Trip with those razor sharp guitars playing massive riffs and a singer who tells you about yourself! ‘1239’ continues the rapid rabid thrashing before ‘Lifelong Sentence’ comes down a just a bit and grooves then ‘Quick To Forget’ changes gears and creates chaos in its two and a half minutes. ‘Earth’ is a minute and forty-five seconds of utter brutality before ‘HQ’ allows bassman Maarten De With to step up and bang the life out of his strings as the guitars follow him and create mayhem. ‘Through The Poison’ is another that grooves and thrashes in equal measure. How the fuck drummer Wout Stas keeps up this intensity is a marvel, but he does. ‘Procrastination-Frustration’ is the longest cut but still under four minutes then ‘Creepy Reaper’ goes for the throat. Final cut ‘Sex Beat’ is a Gun Club cover that is just nasty and savage.
I love this sort of stuff. It’s energetic and aggressive and must be played proper loud. I can imagine their gigs are a riot, literally. You get eleven songs that clock in at about 32 minutes so you can listen to it twice in your lunch break. I did and came back energised and remarkably calm.
Tracklist –
Intro – Into The Graden Of Grief
Reborn
1239
Lifelong Sentence
Quick To Forget
Earth
HQ
Through The Poison
Procastination-Frustration
Creepy Reaper
Sex Beat
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