Black Mood – Toxic Hippies II

Black Mood

Toxic Hippies II

by Sergio Andrés at 01 October 2019, 3:54 PM

From Germany, comes this solid EP. Given the limited amount of time (20 minutes) there is not so much of virtuosity or harmonic content displayed here. Just your proper dose of pounding rhythms and Sludge Metal are shown here. Phil Anselmo and CROWBAR may be the obvious influences, even though there are some acoustic and Hardcore influences here and there.

The instrumental opener “Toxic Hippies 2” sounds a little bit closer to MINISTRY´s “Filthpig” (the song), and it sets the tone for the slow grinding post-SABBATH riffs of the whole record. Can´t hear much of bass guitar in the mix, highly doubt is there any. “Personal Addiction” has vocals, and right at the bat we can notice too many similarities with Phil Anselmo´s timbre and attitude. I can adequately assume these guys are still finding their voice musically, a process that demands time to take some distance from their influences. “The Truth is” has some Acid Bath/ Corrossion of Conformity (circa “Blind”) flavor, whereas “Life is Abused” has that early Atlanta Hardcore sound that fits the urgent message of the lyrics.

“A Deadly Spell” certainly reminded some of the old EXHORDER (which indeed influenced Phil Anselmo vocal delivery) There is nothing too fancy of the compositional side, and unfortunately sounds like the aforementioned bands. “Deadly Spell” has a “southern swampy” feel to it, which is a good thing because serves as a gasp of air in between the massive dose of sludge. “Suicide Monkeys 2” closes this EP with a slower tempo. I can hear a little bit of MELVINS influence here. The singer does stretch his vocal talents a little bit more in this tune.

I would love to hear more of these guys in the future, they have a nice guitar tone, and production sounds ok for this type of metal. On the downside, it lacks the bass guitar department, but that can be treatable. Also, it would be positive for them, as I noticed before, to find their own sound and evolve a little bit afar from their influences.

Songwriting: 5
Originality: 5
Memorability: 7
Production: 7