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| Toxic Avenger, The - Toxic Avenger EP | EPs rarely catch the attention of the general public on any sort of large scale. The inclusion of only a small number of tracks makes a purchase unappealing to an audience already hesitant to pay for even a full-length. Thus, modern EPs must bring truly special elements to the table in order to garner notice.
With his self-titled effort, the Toxic Avenger offers up just that: artistic cunning. His electro styling makes for remarkable slots of dancing hyperactivity, and his Toxic Avenger EP highlights such musical shrewdness.
“Superheroes 2007” gets things started in a good direction with its deliberate, percussion-instigated tempo. Soon a distorted, jagged synth accessorized by a slew of patterned electronic tones kicks in to give the song a heavy dance direction. Scattered, wailing vocals provide brief amusement at various stages throughout the track, but the vast majority of the entertainment comes from the instrumentals. In fact, the borderline a capella snippets of a screaming man frustrate rather than add anything constructive to the tune. Despite a couple of awkward tempo changes that disallow the desired momentum build, the track serves as a perfect album opener.
The Bogart and the Addictives remix speeds things up a hair and removes the vast majority of the abrasive fuzz that made the song so appealing in the first place. This sounds like a bad idea on paper, but in performance it manages to work quite well. The more frequent use of singing gives the tune an entirely new flair, and the shallower sound brings out the rapid-fire nature of the tune nicely. The Mixhell Earplugged mix tells an entirely different story. Here the artist embraces the aforementioned distortion, opting to toy with its pace and repetition rather than remove it all together. A vocal-free track, this remix brings an infinitely heavier feel to the original “Superheroes 2007” song.
The second original of the EP, “Escape,” proves an infinitely more exciting jam than the first. The stuttering vocals, intriguingly timed distortion, and epic synth movements backing the song thrill throughout. The Toxic Avenger masterfully toys with volume throughout the song, thus perfectly building and releasing enormous amounts of tension and intensity. His unexpected transitions from brash, unrestrained bursts of aggression to hindered, meek percussion-laced periods keep the listener focused and enthralled for the whole of the tune. In “Escape” he produces an absolutely stunning work, which showcases genius production.
The Bloody Beetroots exercise their artistic abilities on the track, and by removing some of the fuzz but keeping the assertive overall sound they embrace the bold orientation of the original. Though the instrumentals undergo a great spicy makeover, the removal of singing makes this remix slightly less attractive than the brilliant original.
Though hampered by offering up only two original works and a three remixes of those tracks, the Toxic Avenger manages to excite listeners with his self-titled EP. With Toxic Avenger, he molds the ultimate CD for a distractible generation. |
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Displaying posts 1 - 13 of 13. |
06:04 AM on 09/28/07 | Haven't heard of him before, but he's named after a great movie. | | |
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06:14 AM on 09/28/07 | the secret handshake remix was amazing | | |
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07:54 AM on 09/28/07 | No one touches the Shaqtus Hahaha I saw The Toxic Avenger and got all excited thinkning it had to do with Toxie himself. | | |
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09:14 AM on 09/28/07 | great record, cant wait to see him next week. | | |
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09:17 AM on 09/28/07 | save the drama for wilmer valderama this dude is pretty baller. he's coming to houston next week, and is playing like 11 feet away from my apartment. i think i'll check it out. | | |
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12:12 PM on 09/28/07 | The Toxic Avenger is ballin', straight up. | | |
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12:58 PM on 09/28/07 | great record, cant wait to see him next week. |
Dude, Ocelot is the flippin' best. I saw 'em at a Check Yo' Ponytail this summer, and it was ill. "This is Our Time" was one of my most spun of the summer by far. I'd kill for a legit quality version of that track.
this dude is pretty baller. he's coming to houston next week, and is playing like 11 feet away from my apartment. i think i'll check it out. |
So lucky. You have no idea how jealous I am. That'll be a beast of a time.
The Toxic Avenger is ballin', straight up. |
Word. | | |
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01:09 PM on 09/28/07 | save the drama for wilmer valderama great record, cant wait to see him next week. |
YESSSS. when are you going to release a record? ocelot is so good.
So lucky. You have no idea how jealous I am. That'll be a beast of a time.
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haha yeah, the best part is it's at the bar literally next door to my apartment complex. we share a fence. | | |
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01:23 PM on 09/28/07 | YESSSS. when are you going to release a record? ocelot is so good.
haha yeah, the best part is it's at the bar literally next door to my apartment complex. we share a fence. |
For one, I doubt that's a dude from Ocelot. I mean it could be (same name as MySpace url, same feline picture, etc.), but still... Regardless, I freaking love 'em.
And again, screw you for being able to go to this! I would kill to see him. Gosh, I wanna go back to L.A. | | |
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02:07 PM on 09/28/07 | save the drama for wilmer valderama For one, I doubt that's a dude from Ocelot. I mean it could be (same name as MySpace url, same feline picture, etc.), but still... Regardless, I freaking love 'em.
And again, screw you for being able to go to this! I would kill to see him. Gosh, I wanna go back to L.A. |
it definitely is, i talked to him on here a while back. and whenever ap posted about his band, he usually is in the thread. | | |
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12:17 PM on 09/29/07 | yeah its me 1/2 of ocelot anyway (the good half har har har) we are workign on the full length right now. sorting out what label its coming out on outside of the u.s. we'll make some announcements soon. full length in the summer sometime.
oh and our time isnt even really finished haha, the album version will slay. | | |
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03:44 PM on 10/01/07 | Hahaha I saw The Toxic Avenger and got all excited thinkning it had to do with Toxie himself. |
As did I. | | |
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