If you caught me walking down the street, you probably wouldn’t clock me as a punk. Bell-bottoms, snakeskin boots, tinted aviators, and wild long hair; it’s pretty clear I’m the devil Ronald Reagan was trying to warn everyone about. It may come as a surprise, but I’m fairly active in my local punk scene. It’s not an uncommon sight to find me in a mildew-infested basement over on 16th Street, chuffing darts and debating the intricacies of ska-punk with a fellow burnout while some kind young gentlemen lose their minds on stage, or sometimes just kind of off in the corner where there’s a working outlet. So, when my homie Matt set me up with a band from his local scene, Toxic Madness, I was chomping at the bit to figure out what they were all about.
Toxic Madness hails from Fort Worth, Texas, where they’ve been lurking around the local punk venues since the early 20s. Over their career, they’ve given us several singles, two EPs, a full-length album, and countless live shows. They have played live with the likes of FEAR and Marky Ramone, and have captivated audiences around Fort Worth with their dazzling displays of aggressive punk rock. I was treated to an early look at the band's upcoming sophomore album, “Sleep,” and am happy to report that fans are going to dig what they hear.
“Sleep” is an eight-track masterpiece that delivers a no-frills hardcore sound that explores the limits of the genre without ever threatening the album’s structural integrity. This is one that I think you would be best to pick up a vinyl copy of, not only because it seems like it would sound better coming out of a record player, but also because the A-side/B-side split on the vinyl isn’t just a way to divvy up the songs; it's a clear tonal shift.
The first four songs, which fill out the A-side, come at you hard and fast like a car with a severed brake line. The A-side of “Sleep” is a raw, unfiltered crack in the jaw. It’s got thundering guitars, pounding beats, and heavy bass lines. The front half of the album elicits the same giddy feeling as whipping an empty 40 oz. at the windshield of a police cruiser just to see which one shatters in the collision. These are the kinds of songs that open mosh pits and raise absolute hell.
Then you get to the B-side, and things start to slow down a bit. It’s a gradual decline, not a sudden drop, that starts when “I.D.K.Y.” screeches to a halt and goes down one step at a time until you reach “Lamb,” which is an acoustic track. And while we’re on the topic of “Lamb,” I have to recommend it specifically; the entire album is fantastic, but this song is without a doubt my favorite. Surprising, as I’m usually not much of a slow song person, not that this is a slow song, just slower than the rest of “Sleep,” but I can’t get that rising riff out of my head. It’s got the same stranglehold on me as “Fearless” by Pink Floyd. The guitar scratches a certain itch that drives me right up the wall.
Once again, I have to implore you to pick up a copy of this album on vinyl. Not only will you be supporting rising artists and separating yourself from the horrors of the streaming age, but I do genuinely believe that this record will sound incredible on a record. I know I’ll be scooping a copy up as soon as they go on sale. While you’re waiting for your copy to show up in the mail, you may as well stream it one or seventeen times on your platform of choice. And if you like what you hear, you’re in luck because Toxic Madness recently announced a tour slated for the summer of 2026. We don’t have exact details or dates yet, but they are surely soon to come. In the meantime, we have a whole new album to dig.
