TOAD

Hailing from Arizona, TOAD–which stands for Take Over and Destroy–is a six-piece metal band that sounds kinda like the genre’s scrapyard. While scrapyards are full of junk, there’s also hidden treasure in them for anybody who is willing to to dig through the rusty pipes and vintage car doors.

To put it simply, TOAD pulls together some of metal’s best subgenres, and welds various pieces of them together into an unstoppable monster truck.

The band blends elements of thrash, sludge, and black metal into this distorted ball of anger. The recording is absolutely rough and covered in filth. It’s a mud-soaked reaper’s robe that hangs loosely on the music, giving it both an obscured and chilling aesthetic. - The Needle Drop

9.4 / 10

Lord almighty, what is this vile wretchedness?! Honestly, who makes music this horrible sounding? If this music was a child, it would find it's way into an orphanage within minutes of it's birth, it's just that hideous. Ugly-as-sin doesn't even begin to describe Rotten Tide album in all it's glory.

How to describe this? Well...It's aggressive, that's for sure. It's got that raw, grooving rock n roll appeal that you'll find with the likes of Bison B.C., combined with the grim psychedelic feel offered by few other than Nachtmystium. The riffs are incredibly catchy, yet they're abrasively unique. It's almost like accidentally taking a bite of that mouldy hot dog that's been sitting in your fridge since before you moved in. It's a horrible, rotten experience, but there's that small part of you that's tempted by the prospect of a second bite. Isolate that slight fascination you derive from the dynamic taste of a rotting hot dog, focus on it entirely, then write a soundtrack for it. What you'll wind up with is something along the lines of TOAD's Rotten Tide. Unlike eating old processed food, you don't have to feel guilty about this. It's all the wretched fun without any of the shame and (possibly hallucinogenic) after-effects.

...Did I mention they have organs? Organs of the keyboard variety, of course. Not the guts & innards type...though I'm sure they have those too, but I digress. The subtle, underlying organs really beef up this music. Sure, the eccentric riffing makes it pretty spooky sounding as it is, but the keys just give it that extra layer that makes it creepier, without removing any of the mouth-frothing raw aggression. This is where my only complaint lies - the keys really could have been brought forward in the mix a little more. Well, rather they play their part subtly in the background than become a gimmicky center-piece of the music, I suppose.

If you enjoy truly ugly sounding music, surely this is the must hear album of the year for you.

9.4 / 10

Review by : Doc Godin
- Metalstorm.net

Phoenix, Arizona is one of the hottest, most arid places on the planet. It's for this reason that it's odd to find a band that plays Scandinavian-inspired black metal, particularly as the chances are they've never seen a snowflake in their lives.

TOAD (or Take Over And Destroy) are an unsigned sextet from this area of much sand yet their five-track debut album, the independently-released Rotten Tide could quite easilly be from one of their Nordic counterparts. Opening number Midnight Hunger has the atmospheric guitar undulations of archetypally black metal bands such as Valkyrja, and vocalist Andrew Leemont continues to draw from the lands of perpetual darkness with a convincing, raw-throated growl.

Guitarists Alex Bank Rollins and Dan Labarbera don't rely on excessive speed and fretboard gymnastics to create the atmosphere, more focusing on clean guitar harmonies underpinned by some deep bass work from Trey Edwin and the pleasent inclusion of an organ (no sniggering at the back), the duties for which are handed to Pete Porter. Drummer Shane M. Taylor also resists the temptation to batter the bejesus out of his kit, instead opting for a consistent, pounding rhythm which add further to the layers of the songs.

Morning Disgust has a nice little break that picks up the pace significantly and will allow for a bit of pit action but overall, Rotten Tide has few stand-out moments of metal genius. It's a great debut and deserves to be listened to for all fans of gloomy doom/black metal and is most definitely a sign of intent. It's unlikely that TOAD will remain unsigned for long ladies and gentlemen, so remember where you read about them first... - Metalasfuck.net

TOAD play a brilliant blend of Black Metal/Sludge Metal/Rock Music. They have just released their new album "ROTTEN TIDE". And believe me this pure brilliance from start to finish.

This is Black'n'Roll Sludge at its most pure and finest. These guys are one of the best bands I have heard this year. Rotten Tide was such great listen to from start to finish. You get 5 tracks on for 22 mins or so.

But dont let the short length put you off. This has some of the best guitar Sludge/Black'n' Roll guitar riffs this year. Imagine Kvelertak jamming with Nachtmystium and this is the result you will probably get.

Just one of the best and most furious Sludge Metal release you will hear this year.

The production is excellent. Loud, Clear and heavy from the onset. Highly Recommended Indeed!!! - Sludge Lord