Toxic Ruin - Nightmare Eclipse (2021)

"Nightmare Eclipse", the second album and label debut from Sheboygan, Wisconsin's mosh masters TOXIC RUIN. The album shows off the combination of energetic thrash metal, death metal brutality and clinical technicality that propelled the band to the final round of the 2019 Wacken Metal Battle.

TOXIC RUIN was formed in 2014 with a mission of blending classic thrash metal, old-school death metal and modern technicality and tones into a wicked headbanging brew. Operating out of their collective hometown of Sheboygan, the band released their debut album, "Subterranean Terror," in 2016. This opening serve showcased the group's already-burgeoning barrage of furious riffs and lyrical content ranging from the socio-political commentary of tracks such as "Seat of Corruption" to the beloved craving of a good drink on songs such as "Alcoholocaust."

The group followed up that debut record with the release of their 2018 EP, "Mortal Insolence," on which the current line-up of TOXIC RUIN took shape with Behrendt stepping into the vocalist position and the debut of rhythm guitarist Blake Toltzmann alongside lead guitarist Jacob Baneck and drummer David Miller. The effort saw the group further evolve their sound, leading to praise from Dead Rhetoric for showcasing "a stronger level of confidence and insight into dynamic songwriting for a thrash band not content to rest on recycling the past, but rather creating a bright future."

TOXIC RUIN began writing and recording "Nightmare Eclipse" while relentlessly touring the United States in 2019 alongside bands such as Lich King and Stonecutters and playing multiple festivals including Full Terror Assault and Slam Dakota, plus winning 2nd Place in the 2019 edition of Wacken Metal Battle USA. The result is the band's most mature and complex material to date, while also being their heaviest display of metallic force so far.