Toxi Faktory, a metal band with an atypical universe

Toxi Faktory, are a solid and intoxicating quintet, playing energetic metal, mixing prog, electro or punk influences. Approaching the audience with hindsight and theatrically, the group stands out with an eclectic and personal music that mixes its edgy metal with the madness of electro-industrial, all against a backdrop of dark and captivating atmospheres. Their distinctive universe, drawn from the creation of an unhealthy dystopian science fiction tale, has allowed them to stand out, and thus access the best scenes of the New Aquitaine region.

MUSICWEBZINE – Hi there, first of all, tell us something about Toxi Faktory.
TOXI FAKTORY – We are a metal band with an atypical universe from Bordeaux, in the south-west of France. We have created a particular kind of sick post-apocalyptic tale, mainly inspired by dystopian sci-fi literature like Huxley or Orwell. More than music, what we try to offer is a sound story.

MUSICWEBZINE – There is a link among The Tower Below and The Bounds Below ?
TOXI FAKTORY – Yes indeed, this new track, we wanted it as an appendix, an epilogue to our last album The Tower Below. Here, the Red King becomes Niko again, the Great Archivist becomes Floguit again, the musicians come out of their characters to become narrators of the story they embodied on the album. This is why it was important for us to release a clip on this piece, where we see this discrepancy, this taking a step back from the story we are telling. There was no better context to bring Chouchou l’Amoureuse into the dance… In the clip, she blossoms and opens her eyes to our dystopian universe, as we unveil it and want to open the public’s eyes to the remarks made throughout the album. Remove this blindfold, and discover what had not yet been told…

MUSICWEBZINE – Which is the main theme of The Tower Below ?
TOXI FAKTORY – To understand this album, we have to repeat two words from our universe. We imagine the world after The Great Cataclysm, the Third World War, which we situate in 2025. Our 1st album, “Massive Lies”, set the scene a few decades later, in 2130. With Massive Lies, we presented certain scenes of this world, like flashes. Our new album, “The Tower Below”, is a descent into the depths of Toxi Faktory, the laboratory that ensures the methodical coherence of the system. The Tower Below is a sort of huge library that holds all of the system’s information. We are staging a power that acts in concealment; in this new opus, we therefore find a lot the idea of seeking the truth, of digging, as in the title Diggin’ Through which opens the album.

MUSICWEBZINE – Why you’ve decided about the ri-edition of Massive Lies ?
TOXI FAKTORY – At the time when we released Massive Lies, we were not yet surrounded by professionals concerning our diffusion, we had rather distributed it in an underground way. Last year we had the pleasure of signing to Ghost Record, our new label. They took care of the distribution of our last album, and since we were very happy with their work, we thought it would be a great opportunity to continue the momentum by re-editing our first album with them!

MUSICWEBZINE – Which bands has influenced your sound ?
TOXI FAKTORY – If we had to focus on a few names, we could say Machine Head, Gojira, Rammstein, Psykup, Nine Inch Nails, Dagoba, Tool, Opeth… We could name a lot of them, as the influences of the 5 members of the group are so diverse. We have also created a playlist on our Spotify account, called “ToXinFluenZ”, so that our fans can find them.

MUSICWEBZINE – How is the band living this Lockdown ?
TOXI FAKTORY – Like most artists, it was a real setback. We released our new album shortly before the 1st lockdown, and suddenly the tour fell apart, we had the opportunity to defend it a few times on stage so far. But, even in these difficult times, you always have to know how to see the bright side. It was an opportunity to work on other aspects of our project and to move towards new practices, such as live streaming. We also took the opportunity to release three clips, but also to take a step forward on all the communication, distribution, canvassing part … This allowed us to be signed by Ghost Record Label, the big good news of 2021 for us!

MUSICWEBZINE – That’s all!! greeted our readers with a message!
TOXI FAKTORY – We want to tell something important to us, at the moment it is more than ever necessary to support the world of culture, and especially indie, DIY and local culture! Go buy merchandising online from small groups, go buy records from small record stores rather than supermarkets, see what is happening around your home at the moment with occupations of cultural places, how to support this little world… Because we do not intend to die right away, to be able to start again doing all together what sets us on fire: sweating in concert halls, discovering new groups, meeting again, sharing moments of ecstasy …