Slik Toxik - Where Are They Now??
Any of you who were fans of hard rock and melodic metal have no doubt
heard of the Canadian band Slik Toxik. They were a mainstay of Much
Music’s Power Hour video show and supposedly the next big thing to hit
the American metal market.
The
lineup consisted of Nicholas 'Nick' Walsh (vocals) Rob Bruce (guitar)
Kevin Gale (guitar) Pat Howarth (bass) Neal Busby (drums) and Dave Mercel
(lyricist). They released the E.P. Smooth and Deadly in 1991
on Capitol/EMI Records and followed that up with their debut full length
CD Doin’ The Nasty in 1992 (also on Capitol/EMI). They
released videos for "Helluva Time", "White Lies, Black
Truth" and "By The Fireside." With constant touring with
the likes of Kim Mitchell and Yngwie Malmsteen they even managed to get
their CD to go Gold In Canada.
It was at this time that metal was starting to fall out of commercial favor
as grunge garbage was taking over the airwaves. Some of you may remember
the infamous incident where a drunken Pat Howarth (bassist) smashed a
limousine at the 1994 post-Juno Awards party. It was after this little fiasco
that the label began questioning the stability of the band. EMI wanted to
move Slik Toxik to a subsidiary label but the band decided to leave EMI
and go the independent route. They released the impressive CD Irrelevant
in 1994 with new bassist Adam Headland. They were now signed to the
small indie label known as Strawberry. During this time metal was being
drowned by the wave of whiny grunge bands and Slik Toxik didn’t make it.
The band folded. The fickle North American music industry and (mainstream)
audience were not in favors of hard rock / metal any longer.
As for what they are doing now? Neal Busby reportedly teaches drums and
spent some time in the Toronto death/extreme metal band Solus. Nick
Walsh and Rob Bruce have been playing most recently in the band Raised
On Mars who's "coming soon" website is at www.raisedonmars.com.
We have no idea what this band is, what they play and even if it's metal
or just some rock band?!?! We'd like to know more so if you know more
about this, and what the other members of Slik Toxik are doing LET
US KNOW!!!
UPDATE: Feb 2004
We have received quite a few emails regarding the whereabouts of
Nick Walsh. He is currently fronting the Toronto band REVOLVER. This up
and coming unit had their demo voted as the top indie release of 2003 by
Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles. More information about the band can be
found on their website www.revolvertv.com
Slik Toxik Interview!
Here is a radio interview with Slik Toxik's guitarist Rob Bruce. This
interview was done by our very own staff writer, Pete, in late 1992. It's in MP3
format and runs for almost 15mins.
| Hot Songs
Two of ST's heavier/rocking songs are "Twenty
Something" which is from their heavier 1994 CD Irrelevant.
This one has a heavy groove and the video was aired on
Canada's much music several times. Second is "Midnight
Grind" from 1992's Doin' The Nasty. This track
features Nick at his best - hitting some pretty high notes...reminiscent
of Skid Row.
If you're looking to buy any of Slik Toxik's CD's, then good luck in
finding them. Even though they were on Capital records, we couldn't find
any mention of them on their site!?! Their CD's are also not listed at any
of the online CD stores. Best bet - goto a second hand CD store! |
Irrelevant - 1994
Doin' The Nasty -1992
Smooth & Deadly - 1991
|