Album Review: Toxaemia - Rejected Souls Of Kerberus
Reviewed by Sam Jones
I’m often fascinated by bands who formed decades ago yet hadn’t released records until this day and age. One such act are Toxaemia, hailing out from Östergötland, Sweden, having formed all the way back in 1989 originally as O.S.S before changing to Anguish tbe same year, before finally settling upon Toxaemia until their disbanding in 1991. Their initial run was only short lived thus only a select few Demos and compilations were ever released, though a 1991 EP, Beyond The Realm, was the prominent Toxaemia release for decades. But come 2017 and the gears were finally churning enough again to revitalise the band and as 2020 rolled round, the band released not just a Single but their first full length album, Where Paths Divide, more than three decades following their original inception. Now another four years on, Toxaemia are finally back with their second album, Rejected Souls Of Kerberus, once more distributed through Emanzipation Productions for a November 15th release date. Let’s delve in.
Seemingly proving their first album was no mere fluke of release or effort, the band fling us right into the fire the instant this record gets going. Whilst their production ensures we’re not totally crushed under the weight of their assault, it’s impossible to refute that their soundscape is one that binds you easily and effortlessly into its onslaught. The guitar work is the primary proponent of this as riffs assail your senses from all angles, taking advantage of 2024 production standards; there’s no muddied or deliberately raw tone utilised here, Toxaemia deliver one punch after another to craft a soundscape that’s wondrously smooth yet gives their performance a particularly outlined aesthetic so you feasibly cannot, and do not wish to, turn away from their performance. It’s also worth noting that their songwriting isn’t wholly composed of frantic, relentlessly driven segments either for their songwriting does slow down now and again to make room for these more intricate riff pieces. These form the bridges and connecting moments of tracks, but they’re necessary in a record that is otherwise crafted thoroughly towards annihilation.
I do find it curious how Toxaemia hail out of Sweden but choose not to employ the traditional buzzsaw tone that many of their contemporaries have. In a way I suppose Toxaemia is one example of what Swedish death metal could sound like were bands to utilise an assault geared towards a bolder, blunt impact. Each side is applicable for the songwriting that Swedish death metal writes, it’s purely a choice on the band’s part. But by opting for a more projecting, bellowing style of performance, it aids Toxaemia by injecting weight and presence into their songwriting that a ripping buzzsaw style usually cannot impart. It’s evident the bass is also playing a key role in the mix too since every aspect the band throw up feels heightened to the maximum, for the drums and vocals and even the steadier displays of guitar playing possesses this gravitas, a sense that every moment needs to be experienced and closely paid attention to by the audience. When one listens to this record, one cannot help but think that every second is vital to the band and, consequently, that emphasis is passed on to us. The bass guitar itself may not be the strongest focal point of the record but its effects are a huge factor as to why this album hits as hard as it does.
Given how everything has this outline surrounding either the vocals or instrumentation, I think the band did well to hold back on making the drums these incessantly powerful forces. Within the mix and performance that is on record. I believe the drums are precisely the volume and impact they needed to be, to complement the rest of the band’s performance. Given the band’s status as an older, more old school driven extreme metal act, we aren’t going to deluged by swathes of blast beats. Granted, blast beats are present within but the band ensure only small portions of each track possess blast beats, which in turn leaves plenty of room available for the drums to provide differing kinds of patterns. It also brings the pace of the record down too, for the sparse inclusion of blast beats slows the band down enough to let their tempo settle, which ultimately gives the audience an easier time to digest what’s going on. It means the band aren’t looking to outpace their audience’s ability to comprehend what’s going on, thus letting the drums adopt a steadier rhythm, lending us the capacity to process more keenly the riffs and the entertainment the band wholly can infer.
Praise must be given towards frontman Dennis Johansson whose vocals have given Toxaemia fresh strength ever since the release of their first full length work some years back. Having provided vocals for a number of Swedish extreme metal acts, Johansson knows how to sway a crowd as well as bring the energy on record. You’ll often find his vocal deliveries matching the tempo and the aesthetic the songwriting is vying for; this should be common sense really but paying close attention to his performance you’ll quickly observe the synergy shared between his vocals and the songwriting. Vocals and instrumentation work in tandem very closely here as one cannot be separated from the other; the result of this establishes an album that feels complete and realised, rather than merely the haphazard fusion of multiple separate forces. His delivery is strong and focused, as he demonstrates his affinity for sustained growls, but then, as the tempo climbs, he lets his cadence loose and his ability to quicken his delivery becomes all the more prominent.
In conclusion, Rejected Souls Of Kerberus isn’t just proof that the band are onto something that can verily guarantee success in the future, but it’s simply an excellently written and performed album that makes the most out of modern production quality but is thoroughly infused with the band’s retro death metal attack. It also doesn’t overstay its welcome either for whilst there are a full eleven tracks included, especially the closing Dismember cover, it never feels like each succeeding piece isn’t offering something to the greater whole. As a greater whole, each track feels unique from the rest and there’s something within each one that is worth paying attention for; it’s the exact same, unchanged band roster that gave us Where Paths Divide so you know you’re in safe hands if you believed that record was a strongly received experience. It’s also nice to encounter Swedish death metal that doesn’t buy into its own tropes or expectations and simply plays by its own rules; not all death metal need sound the same and Toxaemia, within the context of what we usually expect from Swedish death metal, do themselves proud. I’d been wondering when the next Toxaemia record would be released and I wasn’t disappointed; Rejected Souls Of Kerberus is a delightfully pummelling time.
