If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you more than likely have heard of Toxic Zombie. They have a huge following of monster loving fans who proudly sing along and dance to the fun, monster-themed music.
Toxic Zombie are one of those bands that put out music that knows no decade or single genre. “Going Viral,” is punk, and rock, and metal, and pop. No, I take that back. There is no pop anywhere in this release.
Having moved away from their early Rock-a-Billy sound, the 14 tracks are toe tapping, really fun songs. Well, 13 of them are anyway, the first is an intro that sets up the listening experience nicely.
While their lyrics are silly, their music isn’t. Let’s talk about the band: Lead guitarists Bishop Freeman and Dead-End Johnny provide excellent rhythms, solos, and melodies throughout. The beautiful Starbie Sixtysix lays down a solid bass performance, and Lugz is a monster on drums. Now, lets talk about vocalist Grimm Dizaster…he’s chameleon like with his voice. Sometimes clean and pure, sometimes Alice Cooper-ish, and sometimes Clash-ish, his voice is strong and fits perfectly with the vibe and groove of each song. While the style spectrum of “Going Viral” goes from slow simple melodic on “Liar,” to toe tapping on “Growing up Monster,” to all out crazy fast on, “Billy Likes Beer,” you’ll find sprinkled throughout, pretty solos, effective repetitive punk chords, excellent drumming, and mature vocals…all circling around the theme of silly monster/zombie lyrics…and it works!”
Having seen Toxic Zombie quite a few times live, I was familiar with “Dead Sexy,” “Liar,” and “Toxic Zombie.” Those three songs are nice sing-along songs that bode well live, and get stuck in your brain.
When I saw the advanced pre-mastered copy in my inbox, I was super excited to hear the other tracks. I fell in love with “Going Viral,” “Stranger Things,” and “Knee Jerk Amputee.” “Going Viral,” the album’s namesake is a great song. It’s both interesting and fun. “Stranger Things,” is a fun punk song with fantastic guitars and drums, and a voice reminiscent of some of the best 80s punk bands. “Knee Jerk Amputee” is a sweet little love song, with some pretty guitaring, and lyrics, that done by any other band, would be dumb. Grimm and his monstrously understated band turn silly into serious and thoroughly enjoyable.
While I first heard the pre-mastered copy, I have to say the sound quality was great. When I heard the mastered copy, I was surprised it could even be better, but it was. Recorded at Falcon Studios with Gabe Johnston, Toxic Zombie’s self-funded/independent mentality and talent has put together a great timeless fun punk/monster-themed rock album.
If you like fun music, have an open mind, and a sense of humor, I recommend you check out “Going Viral.” If you like fun music that is as fun to watch as it is to hear, do yourself a favor and catch Toxic Zombie live. If you don’t like fun…well, you’ll miss out.
“Going Viral,” is scheduled to be independently released April 1st, 2018. You can keep track of the band at:
https://www.facebook.com/toxiczombieband/
http://www.toxiczombie.com
https://twitter.com/toxiczombieband
https://www.instagram.com/toxiczombieband/
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