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The whispering clamour surrounded me and as it grew in intensity my fear of what was to come grew stronger. Suddenly the chanting started, the dread inside me rose as the chants grew louder and my anticipation greater. Each drum beat took me closer to the edge… a scream …then Preludium.

Fun over! As I looked at the hellish images on the Toxic album Fear just before I inserted the disc into my CD player I wondered if I had something to be afraid of. A whimsical thought I know but those thoughts continued as I looked at the play list:

01) Preludium

02) Lucifer

03) Fear

04) Live On

05) I am the Fire

06) Panic

07) Tinnitus

08) Feed me Bitch

09) Freedom

10) Truth

11) Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained

12) Greed

13) Every Beating is a Lie

14) Fear None

Those titles are not exactly pussy footing around, but my fears continued in a good way as I listened to Preludium. It began with the type of sound effects that are used to create fear and anticipation in horror films and then chanting as if a black magic ceremony was going on. My imagination was working overtime by the time the band kicked in with powerful vocals and backing. I’m told that Preludium was recorded in a large cathedral type of room and that it sounded wicked – I can imagine that!

The other tracks that stood out for me were:

Feed me Bitch – despite the title I loved this track. ‘You’ve got to be poor to feed the rich’ that’s true. A contrast of sounds with an edge that made me feel the music almost as much as Preludium.

I am the Fire reminded me a bit of Black Sabbath. A full on rock track that got me jumping. To get the full effect I wished that I were listening at a concert and not in my sitting room, but second best was still good.

Every Beating is a Lie tells you to stand up for your rights and not to let them hold you down. I absolutely agree with that. Musically I enjoyed listening to this stirring track and as with all over the other tracks Toxic are getting a good message across.

Fear None is a good finale to the album, strong instrumentals but it does get a bit screechy in places. Not enough to scare my cat who seemed to be enjoying it as much as I was. Seriously, I like the vocals, the instrumentals and the mad contrasts and was disappointed when the track faded out to nothing and half expected them to come back and shock me.

After listening to the 14 tracks several times I can reveal that there was nothing to be afraid of from Fear. I enjoyed listening and can recommend the album to anybody who likes heavy rock. It’s crazy in places, a creative album of unexpected events that left me wanting more. My favourite track has to be Preludium because it was so atmospheric and captured my imagination. Well done Toxic it isn’t often that happens.

November 2008 Showcase – Steven Hitchens

Review Of ‘Whoops’

When I heard the title of talented young singer songwriter Steve Hitchens debut single ‘Whoops’ I thought ‘oh no not one of those naff, catchy songs that are usually released in the run up to Christmas’. You know what I mean – the type of song that gets played for years to come at weddings and birthday parties that gets the grandparents up dancing with the kids. But, I promised to listen to and review Whoops so here goes.

On first listen I was pleasantly surprised. Yes it is one of those catchy songs, but it doesn’t remind me of anything else and has grown on me every time that I’ve listened to it. ‘Whoops’ suggests mistakes and the song is about a guy who cheats on his partner and is caught out and not for the first time. He wants forgiveness from the partner that he loves but you sorta know that it will happen again.

The chorus ‘Whoops did I do it again’ made me think about works Christmas parties and the embarrassing mistakes that happen. Imagine for weeks afterwards your workmates compounding your embarrassment with a rendition of the chorus every time that they see you!

As a debut single I like ‘Whoops‘. It’s catchiness, upbeat tempo and singalongability score in its favour and especially as we are heading towards Christmas when it could become popular as a party livener. As a dance tune it also scores good in my book. I found myself wanting to dance and if a dance craze attaches itself to ‘Whoops’ who knows how well it will do.

Singer Steven Hitchins who comes from Surrey in the UK certainly has the look of a pop star. I’m sure that the girls will love his moody good looks – I know that I do! Whoops is now available from most digital retailers. As Steve will be releasing his first album next year I’m sure that we will hear much more from him in the future.

Competition so far for the Christmas season is Alesha Dixon’s ‘The Boy Does Nothing’. Played back to back with ‘Whoops’ at a club or party – that sounds like a fun time to me.

Exclusive Interview with Steven Hitchens

Whoops the Video

You can buy the MP3 download of Whoops
now at Amazon