Toxic Holocaust - 'Hell On Earth'

Minor retro-thrash masterpiece from top of the pack young band.

Toxic Holocaust has done the metal world a great favor by reissuing Hell On Earth so new fans can easily access and experience their ballbuster  sophomore album. From the blazing musical introduction through every staccato thrash song Hell On Earth just flat out rules. It combines the catchiness of Judas Priest with the anger of Possessed. But like Toxic Holocaust’s other albums it never sounds even a tad derivative.

Hell On Earth is the second Toxic Holocaust reissue from Relapse this month. Evil Never Dies is excellent with a few hiccups, but Hell On Earth outclasses it by a mile. The riffs are better, mainman Joel Grind’s voice is more developed and the songwriting is razor-sharp.  Hell On Earth is one of the rare albums that makes you rediscover why you love thrash metal.

The album doesn’t waste a second, hinting at the beating to come with a guitar introduction featuring a riff that’s better than centerpiece material on most albums. “Arise From The Cemetery” and “Thrashing Death”  make you slam your fists and “Burn” pummels listeners through the speakers. “Metallic Crucifixion” is the best of the bunch, compulsively listenable and hinting at violence. None of these songs waste your time or patience; they just rip out your arteries. 

Like the peerless Reign In Blood, Hell On Earth is roughly a half-hour long; enough time to leave a nasty mark but make you want to turn around and listen again. I played this back-to-back with some vintage Venom and it holds up against songs like “Red Light Fever” and “Bloodlust.” If you don’t own this album, you should.