The world of Heavy Metal music takes us to the beautiful Portugal, then land of the Fado. The band we are listening to today is TOXIKULL and they have been around in the Portuguese Metal scene since 2016 with 3 full albums and a bunch of EPs and singles released in between. The latest one is Under The Southern Light released in 2024 and I can tell you just by listening to the first track “Night Shadows” it definitely gets my good quality Metal stamp. Pure energy and a very traditional Heavy Metal sound makes me believe we are in for a treat.

The album follows with “Around The World” and you can see the influences of the Californian Metal from the 80’s clearly exposed. Very familiar guitar riffs that remind you of bands like LA GUNS or KEEL. This tune is not as good as the first one but there is still hope. The next one gives the album its title. “Under The Southern Light” is a nice epic ballad with some heavy outputs ala “18 and Life “ from SKID ROW. Songs are well composed and delivers interesting moods and ideas throughout. Singer and guitar player Lex Thunder has a powerhouse of a voice that reminds me of Udo Dirkschneider but with a better range.  Speaking of which,  the next tune “BattleDogs” could easily be an ACCEPT song. The competent lead guitarist Michael Blade has a somewhat Wolf Hoffman tone in his guitar. The song is completed with a call to arms under the sound of soldiers marching.

We reach halfway with “Ritual Blade” and we have some double bass drum dexterity from drummer Tommy 666. Another good tune that takes you back to an era with great guitar solos and heavy guitars tuned normally. No Drop Ds. The production and sound of the album is from good to great and you can easily hear all instruments in the mix. You can also notice that the band consists of well seasoned musicians that have been around for some time. “The Ghost Of A Dream” starts with a nice instrumental… and ends with the same. I believe this is just an instrumental filler to the album and perhaps the live concerts so the band can have a break. We go back to 80’s Hard Rock with “Knights of Leather” bringing all the JUDAS PRIEST vibes you can handle. Sometimes I think this band could be used to educate metalheads regarding the Metal and Hard Rock of that era with all its influences as they seem to have drunk from them all. This tune has a nice guitar solo with an alternate tempo drum beat and the singer can definitely do some Rob Halford.

Do you want some THIN LIZZY vibes? They have that too with “Going Back Home” that for me is the best of the album so far. Nice chorus and simple melody makes you want to drive a convertible in along journey on the way back home. You can also feel the presence of bass player Antim “The Viking” ( love these names!) with a great bass riff right in front of the mix.We get close to the end with “They’re Falling”. The thing I said in the beginning about the singer reminded me of Udo Dirkschneider? Forget about it, he can do much more. Each song reminds me of a great singer of the era. Really good pipes and still can play the guitar. We end the album with the same energy as it started. The good “Filhos Do Metal” (Sons of Metal) sang in Portuguese, yet gave me yet another vibe of the great Rock and Heavy Metal bands from Portugal and Brazil from the 70’s and beyond. This is another great fountain that this band has surely drank from. Good work from “meus irmaos em Portugal”.