Okay, I know that Mario van Dooren, one of my earliest acquaintances, and a booker of many a concert in the South West of the Netherlands really likes TOXIKULL, but as I hadn't heard of the band before, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Well, I do know now! These guys from Lisbon in Portugal have been around for 10 years now, and with "Turbulence" they have just provided us with their fourth album filles with Heavy/Power/Speed Metal. But what strikes me is how much this sounds like what CRIMSON GLORY did on their first two classic albums. But at times you will also hear Q5, on a few short occasions even early AGENT STEEL but definitely some METAL CHURCH passing you by.

I can't help it, but not only musically we have a band here that is able to resurrect the CRIMSON GLORY days, but also in voice and atmosphere. And before you ask, Lex Thunder is no Midnight, but he does give you the same kind of shivers down your spine. I have to mention  that there isn't one instance that you feel that they have been plagiarising their peers, but TOXIKULL is proving that they have the ability to use those influences, and add Q5 and early AGENT STEEL to the mix, whilst not forgetting the METAL CHURCH comparison ("Blessed by the Night") that will pop up from time to time. And no, I'm not always a fan of bands that have such strong connections to the past, but there are circumstances that will make you look past all that without hesitation. One of the most important is that the music you are listening to has to be very good indeed.

That is one thing that "Turbulence" has in spades; bloody good music. I can only acknowledge the fact that TOXIKULL exists of four people who not only know how to write extraordinary songs, but also have the knack to rehearse and record them in the most optimal way. I can't fault any song on "Turbulence", and for over 39 minutes I am transported into a world where I am floating between a fantasy world and the real one. TOXIKULL make the transitions between the two feel seamless, the effort painless. Even if they do a power ballad, "Dying Star", they have the ability to keep the power intact and build on it. They're touring soon, so be sure to be there. TOXIKULL needs to be as massive as can be.