Posted by ✦ Goose Legs, Guitars & Garage Rock – A Night with Toxic Virgin
by Nicky N. Meyer
It started with confusion and ended in chaos – the good kind. We were in Düsseldorf’s Bürgerhaus Bilk, a place that sounded grander than it looked. More rehearsal space than concert hall, the “venue” was really just a cramped hall where folding chairs feared for their lives. No press info, no promo photos, just me, my notes, and a band I’d never met. A typical night in early-2000s metal journalism.
But then Toxic Virgin took the stage – and something clicked. They weren’t polished. They weren’t choreographed. They were loud, scrappy, and refreshingly unfiltered. The kind of band that still writes bios on actual paper and signs them with a smirk. So when they offered me a spot to chat after soundcheck, I dove into the chaos with a grin.
✦ Toxic Virgin: Loud, Loose, and a Little Bit Lit
“Is the tape rolling? Okay—on three, we pop the bottle. We’re Toxic Virgin! One, two, three—fump!”
That was the official start of the interview. No intros. Just a beer bottle, a bang, and a declaration of intent.
The band? A five-man force of loud guitars and louder opinions:
Carlo Bertini (Lead Guitar)
Markus Litsch (Vocals)
Dirk (Rhythm Guitar)
Frank (Drums)
Klaus (Bass)
They also described themselves as a wind orchestra with a love for roast goose. (Don’t ask. I didn’t.)
As for the band’s origins?
“At first, it was Frank and Dirk in a garage,” Markus explained. “Then Carlo joined, then Klaus. I was the last one to join. The singer at the time got cancelled – so I just stepped in.”
Simple. Brutal. Very rock ‘n’ roll.
Their first gigs were pure DIY – bars in Krefeld, a local city festival, and eventually the “big stage” at Quelle Niederrein. They never claimed to be refined. But they were fun. You get the sense that every song is one misstep away from falling apart – but somehow, it never does
“We recorded our demo to get some gigs. And we did. Barely,” laughed Frank.
“We played our first gig on International Women’s Day,” Klaus added, straight-faced. “Very fitting for a band called Toxic Virgin, no?”
The humour was dry. The beer was not.
And somehow, amidst the banter, it became clear: they were serious about not taking themselves too seriously.
✦ Final Words
Toxic Virgin might not be headlining Wacken anytime soon, but they’ve got heart – and volume-in spades. They’re the band you stumble across by accident, stay for out of curiosity, and end up talking about two beers later.
No egos, no filters – just noise, nonsense, and maybe a goose leg if you’re lucky.