THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO...TOX – Prince Of Darkness (Golden Core)

Operating out of the Stuttgart area, where they came together in 1983, Tox released just two albums in their short lifetime. Which is a great shame, as they had the knack of writing catchy, traditional metal numbers which should have been appreciated by a wider audience. The fact that Discogs lists 53 compilations on which the band have appeared over the years says something about their inherent cult status.

The first outing by guitarist / vocalist Werner Dannemann, bassist Wolfgang Kallert and drummer Peter Garattoni, ‘Prince Of Darkness’, appeared in 1985, first on the GAMA label offshoot Camel in Germany, after which it was picked up for wider distribution by Mausoleum – pretty much the kiss of death! The cover’s a turkey (and is it me, or is the title misprinted as ‘Prince Of Darfness’?) but inside there’s real meat, not stuffing, and the lads at Golden Core are to be commended (again) for unearthing what is very much a buried treasure. Like a lot of debut releases ‘Prince Of Darkness’ does run out of steam a little in the middle, but the album opener (and title track), the sharp-edged ‘Tell Me What To Do’ and the guitar work in ‘Gambler On The Run’ are worth the price of the album alone.

By the following year Kallert was gone, and the duo ploughed on with ‘Tox’, aided and abetted by Kuno Bizenhofer on keyboards and Michael Oscheja’s guitar synth. This time the album was only released in Germany (on SL Records) and France (Accord) and did precious little to set the world ablaze which again is a great shame. It’s more of its time, with a mid-Eighties’ production and an eye on the Bon Jovi market but it still has its moments (‘Movin’ Back’ is a tasty little groover) and Dannemann’s guitar work is exemplary. This CD rounds up both albums and adds ‘Still Got The Blues’, a cover of the Gary Moore track which first appeared on the 1992 ‘Rock Dreams 2’ compilation, while ‘Prince Of Darkness’ is also available as a standalone LP with a couple of bonus tracks.

John Tucker August 2024