AF dives headfirst into the crossover genre with this one, The Eliminator kicks off as a speedy double bass thrasher that could’ve been written by Razor, and most of the rest of the album is in the same vein. Keeping up with other thrash bands of the time, they had to include at least one song about environmental issues in Toxic Shock. Lest you think this is a tree-hugging hippie band, Public Assistance is line-by-line Tucker Carlson talking points, and Shoot His Load reads like an NRA lobbyist’s jerk off material. I suppose just because it’s punk doesn’t mean it has to be leftist, and it’s certainly not subtle - this record is certainly neither of those things. It’s gross, and I don’t agree with it, but I can’t call it extremist either - by today’s standards anyway - similar content is mass-consumed by via Fox News and positioned as indelible fact, rather than artistic expression through thrash.
The final twist here is the lyrics of the 4 songs I mentioned above were not even written by the band, instead penned by Peter Steele of Carnivore / Type O Negative / Playgirl fame. He is credited with 5/10 songs on this album. My copy is a UK pressing on Rough Justice.