Portugal's solo project Antiquus Scriptum has returned with a new recording which shows the music moving away from the pagan black metal style of previous releases and goes for more of a mixture of hardcore and thrash metal and this is a review of his self released 2025 album "Toxic Waste".
Spoken word and movie samples start off the album before going into a heavier thrash metal direction while the music is also very heavily rooted in the mid 80's era. Vocals bring in a clear style mixed in with a more rough style and back-up shouts and electronic sounds can also b e heard at times updating the style for the more modern era.
Blast beats can also be heard when the music speeds up on a couple of tracks while the songs also mix in elements of hardcore and crossover. A lot of the album also sticks to a more mid tempo direction along with one song also adding in a brief use of operatic choirs, samples also return in certain sections of the album.
At times a small amount of melody can also be heard in some of the guitar riffing along with some piano's and keyboards also being used briefly as the album progresses and a couple of the later tracks are also S.O.D and D.R.I covers, guitar solos and leads can also be heard briefly. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover inner struggles, existence and social issues.
In my opinion this is another decent sounding recording from Antiquus Scriptum and while some black metal fans might not like this direction, I can see this album appealing to fans of crossover and thrash metal. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing" "Mediocre Narcissist" "I,m Back in Shreds" and "Beneath The Wheel". 7/5 out of 10.
https://antiquusscriptum1official.bandcamp.com/album/toxic-waste
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