Album Review: "Lobotomized" by Biotoxic Warfare

Lobotomized

What's in a label?

How many artists do we know that defy the commonplace pigeonholing?

Well, I'd wager that there aren't enough of them out there.

Today's album review is the debut record of Biotoxic Warfare from Heraklion, Crete.

Yes, that's in Greece.

This is a band that's the musical offspring of two distinct, though similar on the periphery. Biotoxic Warfare has two great loves: Bay Area Thrash Metal and Tampa Bay Death metal.

Yes, it's true that Death Metal was borne of Bay Area Thrash, but what happens if you put both elements into equal parts?

Biotoxic Warfare. The t-shirts say it all.

This is a band that pays homage to their forebears in the best possible way.

They have taken the old and turned it into something new and very much their own.

Everything changes on this record.

The vocals toe the line between Tom Araya screams and John Tardy growls, except when the vocalists decides to wade completely into those styles.

The guitars start off with Tampa Bay Death metal riffs and work into Bay Area Thrash riffs, or they mix them up completely before moving into eye popping guitar solos.

Speaking of those solos, don't look for whammy bar dives or two handed tapping or other such tricks. They're just full on melody, harmony, and musicality at about 200 miles per hour.

Their tone is like few others in the modern age. The 5150 sound is nowhere to be found. Their guitars harken back to the Metallica heyday with that Mesa/Boogie and Marshall mixture.

Variety. Originality. Virtuosity. Brutality.

In short, Biotoxic Warfare succeeds on every level imaginable.

Release: 6/23/15 (North American CD/Digital Release)
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Static Tension Recordings
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