For those that find themselves here thanks to the buzz created by former ST frontman Nick Walsh’s new band, Famous Underground, all you need to know is that before grunge showed up to ruin the party in the ’90s they were a big deal at home, with a smaller contact buzz in the United States. If you’re a Canadian that lived through big-haired rock/metal scene in the the late ’80s and early ’90s, you don’t need the history lesson that comes with the name Slik Toxik. Continue reading SLIK TOXIK – Irrelevant (20 Something Anniversary Re-Issue) Posted on OctoOctoAuthor carl Categories Reviews Tags Doin' The Nasty, Irrelevant, Perris Records, Slik Toxik, Twentysomething, White Lies / Black Truth BW&BK Interview: FAMOUS UNDERGROUND – Cracking The Surface Less surprising was the drive towards Alice In Chains territory with ‘Dive’ and ‘Drained’ given the times, the latter being the weakest song on Irrelevant. The bigger shock, however, turned out to be tracks like the introspective ballad ‘Liquid Calm’, the smokey bar blues of ‘Blue Monday’, and the acoustic led south bent ‘Mother Machine’. On the one hand Slik Toxik went from being cock rock to a nailgun-carrying metal band, quite unexpectedly bashing people over the head with ‘Twentysomething’, ‘I Wanna Gun’, ‘Kill The Pain’, ‘Fashioned After None’ and ‘Just Fade Away’. Looking back on said review in the wake of Perris Records opting to release a 20th Anniversary edition of the record, two things are readily apparent: I knew what I was talking about even as a wide-eyed newbie to the music biz, and Slik Toxik were way ahead of their time.Īnd thanks to the internet age I’m not restricted to a tiny column in trying to explain why Irrelevant works, units sold in the past be damned.Īs stated in my original review (photo below), Irrelevant was a diverse platter that deftly avoided being a scene-sucking travesty with regards to their roots (that’s what I tried to say, at any rate). Irrelevant failed to make the same impact its predecessor had, and ultimately turned out to be Slik Toxik’s swansong. It was a darker and dirtier record compared to their official debut, Doin’ The Nasty, written and released at a time when hair metal / cock rock bands were well into taking a beating from the grunge scene takeover. Slik Toxik is a band that may have never rose above the horizon to make their presence known but Doin’ the Nasty serves as a reminder that some of the greatest albums ever made are the ones you never even knew existed.Twenty years ago I wrote a review for Slik Toxik’s second full length album, Irrelevant. The production is perfect, the band plays absolutely amazing, and the songs are so well thought out, well written, and perfectly executed. That band was Slik Toxik and the album was Doin' The NastyĢ0+ years later, Doin’ the Nasty is an album that is still a fucking blast to listen to. Of those acts, one band and their debut album rose above them all to really blow our mind. As a matter of fact, bands like Tora Tora, War Babies, and Babylon AD were doing this stuff as good if not better than many of their peers. While this was true, it definitely didn’t mean that these bands weren’t any good. It was also a bad time for new bands of the genre who were coming out. The landscape was changing and bands such as Warrant, Poison, and Skid Row who all at one time were selling out arenas and amphitheaters found themselves playing to 1/2 full venues and in some cases reduced to playing half full clubs. Heading into the 90’s, the waters were a bit rocky for the hard rock/metal world. The "White Lies/Black Truth" video won the People's Choice Award for 'Best Video Of The Year' and "Helluvatime" took home the 'Best Metal Video Award' at the 1992 MuchMusic Video Awards. They won the 1993 Juno Award for Hard Rock Album of the Year. Both the EP and full-length album were produced by Paul Gross and co-produced by Anthony Vanderburgh and recorded at Toronto's world class facility studio Phase One. This was followed in 1992 by the full album Doin' the Nasty. Capitol Records (EMI) signed the band in 1991 and issued an EP, 'Smooth And Deadly'. Portrait consisted of original members singer/guitarist Nick Walsh, drummer Kevin Harrison, guitarist Kevin Gale and bassist/ lyricist Dave Mercel. Slik Toxik was formed in 1988 out of Toronto hard rock band Portrait.
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