Slik Toxik – Doin’ The Nasty
Release Date: March 24, 1992
Label: EMI
Heading into the 90’s, the waters were a bit rocky for the hard rock/metal world. The landscape was changing and bands such as Warrant, Poison, and Skid Row who all at one time were selling out arenas and amphitheaters found themselves playing to 1/2 full venues and in some cases reduced to playing half full clubs. It was also a bad time for new bands of the genre who were coming out. While this was true, it definitely didn’t mean that these bands weren’t any good. As a matter of fact, bands like Tora Tora, War Babies, and Babylon AD were doing this stuff as good if not better than many of their peers. Of those acts, one band and their debut album rose above them all to really blow my mind. That band was Slik Toxik and the album was Doin the Nasty
I know what you’re probably saying. “Man, that’s a lame name and lame album name.” Well, just shut your fucking mouth and listen. Slik Toxik was a band that was really unique in a genre that was beginning to sound tired and where every band was sounding like carbon copies of the very bands who were starting to dwindle. Slik Toxik brought a kind of hard rock that had me excited and made me forget that this kind of music was on its way out. As a matter of fact, I thought that Slik Toxik very well could be one of the bands that could save this sinking ship.
The opening song “Big Fucking Deal” starts out perfectly but really sounds just like your ordinary hard rock song but right off the bat you’re made aware that the skill and talent of this band is undeniable. “Helluvatime” was the band’s first single but even as corny as it is, once again, you get the idea that this band is on to something but it all comes to a head on “Sweet Asylum.” Now this is where Slik Toxik flexes their muscles and opens the door a bit more. As you listen closely to this song, you hear all of the intricacies and brilliance in the arrangement. It’s a stellar fucking song and it’s infectious as all fuck.
“While Lies, Black Truth” is an amazing slow burn kind of rock song about drug use and then you have your good ol’ fashioned hard rockers like “Marionette”, “Blood Money”, and “Cheap Nicotine” which let us know that underneath it all, they’re a band that has roots. The only lame song on the album is “By the Fireside” which wouldn’t surprise me if the label pressured them to write a “love song” because it sticks out like a sore thumb on this platter of awesomeness.
The show stoppers on Doin’ the Nasty without a doubt are “Crashed” and “It’s Not Easy.” In my opinion, “It’s Not Easy” just may be one of the all time greatest songs of the hard rock genre. I mean, this song is so fucking bad ass and 20+ years later it’s even more bad ass than I remembered. That fucking guitar solo with the slap bass guitar and the drummer raging on the double bass… then you get this funky break down and all. This song is epic as fuck and again, whenever I hear this it just saddens me that this band went so sadly overlooked.
20+ years later, Doin’ the Nasty is an album that is still a fucking blast to listen to. The production is perfect, the band plays absolutely amazing, and the songs are so well thought out, well written, and perfectly executed. Slik Toxik is a band that may have never rose above the horizon to make their presence known but Doin’ the Nasty serves as a reminder that some of the greatest albums ever made are the ones you never even knew existed.
About The Author
