Hard rock? Me thinks not…
5
By Pick My Boogers Please!
The opening cut alone catapults this into the metal category, so hard rock is a vile mislabel on Apple’s part. As for the music, Toxicity is a freakshow of vocal acrobatics, disturbing changes in mood, violent riffing, thought provoking and often disturbing lyrics, and most importantly testosterone soaked rage. It certainly isn’t repetitive, and the shorter songs feel as complete as a 7 minute epic. I love the production here from Rick Rubin, as it has what is missing in modern metal/metalcore today: an emphasis on aggression, intensity, and dark riffs, with melody being an afterthought. The three singles are the obvious classics, but there really isn’t a bad song here…
