Toxikull - Under The Southern Light - CD

Portugal’s Toxikull is back with their third album: melody-driven, anthemic traditional metal.

Born and raised under the hot & blinding southern light of Portugal’s capital Lisbon, TOXIKULL took off in 2016 and have backed down since: a tumult from the Atlantic, rising to take the world by storm. With two full-lengths, an EP, and a collection of singles, full of incredible guestsfrom bands such as Skull Fist and Crystal Viper under their belts, TOXIKULL’s taunting, fearless attitude has conquered the European heavy metal underground. Now, after speedmetal-intensive Cursed and Punished in 2019 (which DYING VICTIMS later released on vinyl), they now shift gears with Under the Southern Light, present amore mature, melodic, yet thankfully still-rough version of themselves.

Stomping and strutting with absolutely authentic mid/late ‘80s swagger, Under the Southern Light is an unabashed throwback to the era where heavy metal ruled the airwaves and arenas alike. Some might’ve doubted whether such Sunset Stripping sounds could come from TOXIKULL after the all-pistons-pumping speed metal overdrive of Cursed and Punished, but the ten tracks comprising the 41-minute Under the Southern Light are all anthems in the making: larger than life, heavy and spacious, moody and dynamic. Gleaming with their brightest chrome yet, TOXIKULL here invoke the quintessential likes of ‘80s Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Judas Priest, Accept, Saxon, Manowar, Black Sabbath, WASP, Ratt, Scorpions, Picture, Germany’s Warlock, America’s Icon, France’s Sortilege, and many more. But, instead of pastiche or hero worship, Under the Southern Light is more so a tableau of TOXIKULL’s personal experiences in the world, whereby they rearrange all these classic archetypes into a laser-focused theme on the duality of living in the Southern lands of Europe, in places with so much light, with so much joy and potential, but at the same time, with such scarcity of opportunities, no future, and infested with shadows. “The light that feeds is the same light that burns,” says vocalist Lex Thunder. “And the light that makes you dream is the same light that chains you down and keeps you close to the shadows.”

Bright & burning-hot metal pumping blood from a (metal) heart of darkness, Under the Southern Light takes the party down dark, dirty back streets…dare you drink with TOXIKULL?