It’s no secret that California has always produced excellent bands that have been highly influential to others. Today, I bring you a relatively new band with an excellent proposition for everyone.
From San Diego, California, I present TOXINS and their debut full-length album “Existential Dread.” This album is loaded with 10 songs that offer a fresh concept of melodic post-hardcore. It is well-crafted with fast-paced drums and a prominently marked bassline in every damn song. From my perspective, the band carries a strong influence from bands like 88 Fingers Louie (one of my favorite bands), Kid Dynamite, and a hint of Iron Chic. However, if you pay attention, you can notice something very similar (and it really pleases me) to the band From Parts Unknown.
Their lyrics are highly focused on:
the internal conflict and battles we have with ourselves. The weight of the biggest things in life to the most trivial can sometimes be overwhelming but at the same time, some of it can all be made up in our own heads and it’s all about how we deal with and cope through these things.
It’s a huge relief that many bands are bringing forth great musical proposals without neglecting their influences and without following many of the new trends which, in my opinion, distort or hinder the concept rather than improving it!
I’m not one to give ratings to every project, but I would give this new material 4 out of 5 stars.
TOXINS are:
Branson Fivas – Guitar
Matt Watkins – Vocals
Gui Santana – Drums
Sean Walker – Guitar
Ricky Martinez – Bass
Toxins social media:
Punk Rock Mag 
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