Simply saying that Mindtaker's debut album Toxic War is for fans of crossover thrash acts like Municipal Waste or Iron Reagan wouldn't be giving it justice. Toxic War is an absolute banger! The Portuguese quintet thrashers Mindtaker first took over the local scene by winning the Portuguese Wacken Open Air Band contest, continuing to perform there for the masses. Their debut, Toxic War, released on February, 24th 2020, via Mosher Records and Firecum Records.
Now that I've talked them up a bit, let's talk about the music itself. The current lineup is Brotas championing the mic, Almeida and Vidigal on the axe, bass is wielded by Branco with Sousa on skins. The influences of both punk and thrash are extremely pleasant, surely to please the most hardcore fans of the genre. Blistering hot solos, vocals that feels as though Brotas just kicked you right in the mother fucking jaw, driving bass lines and frantic drum fills abound. The lyrical content is about what one would expect when it comes to the genre like, nuclear war; tearing down the establishment; and, of course, partying like hell!
Honestly, there's not a single track that stands out to me more than the others as being the absolute best, but if I had to pick one I'd say it'd have to be "Drink Beer for Thrash." It's got a killer rhythm to it, fun gang vocals, and I enjoy a great party song! You can check out that song below. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the single they released off Toxic War, "I Am The Kid." The track also happens to be their opener for the album, and it's a strong one at that. Full of fist pumping rage and, yes, some gang vocals, it's as if they didn't just start a fire but ignited a damn dynamite factory and rode the blast wave through the rest of the record!
As I mentioned before, if you're a fan of the crossover thrash genre already, Mindtaker wont disappoint you. If you've never really thought to check out this particular blend before, give these boys a try! They've already started to make some small international waves, come find out why!
I'm giving Toxic War a 9/10
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