FAREWELL

German band TOXIC SMILE was formed back in 1996, and is among the veterans of the German progressive rock scene. From 2001 and onward they have released new material at a fairly steady pace, and have five studio productions to their name as of now. "Farewell" is their most recent outing, released by Progressive Promotion Records towards the tail end of 2015.

There aren't too many albums around that consist of a single, epic-length composition, even in this age of musical plenty, and Toxic Smile's addition to that list is a worthwhile one indeed. Mainly alternating between various forms of progressive rock and progressive metal, this is a varied, sophisticated, but also compelling and accessible creation, delivering enough details to keep the busiest brain going but also seeing to it that the themes and motifs used don't stray too far into the challenging territories. This is quality progressive metal of the kind that should have a fairly wide general appeal, despite clocking in at a bit over 42 minutes.