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Robert Brenner : bass
Marek Arnold : keyboards, sax,
recording
Uwe Reinholz : guitar, recording
Larry B. : vocals
Daniel Zehe : drums
Guest
Vokalgruppe Condé : vocals on "Voix Du
Passé"
Norbert Jäger : tabla, percussion,
electronic fx (4,8,9) |
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Let’s
immediately get straight to the point; this is one of the best
releases of the last months, especially if we’re talking about
rather unknown bands. Because, just be honest, does the name Toxic
Smile ring any bells? Apparently Germany is doing some serious
catching up and gradually vies Sweden in progland. But it didn’t all
happen without a hitch. With a big contract from BMG they were
predestined to start a big career, but after a beautiful and
successful Korean adventure they were abandoned by their record
company. Now they managed the own release of their new album
entitled RetroTox Forte.
Their music is a perfect mix of progressive rock, progmetal and AOR,
whilst a lot of other influences, as the use of samples and a bit of
humour from time to time, give this album a special character. The
parts on recorder and saxophone and the (Gregorian) male choir are
quite surprising. So you see, Toxic Smile clearly differs from the
classic pattern of most prog albums and they certainly deserve a
feather in their cap for their originality. If you add the musical
skills and a very strong singer, you get a magnificent album.
The start of the album isn’t representative for the rest. You get a
cracking modem followed by some strange samples and it ends with
some French vocals by the choir Condé - surprising is the least you
can say.
“Raised”
is a strong but melodic progressive metal track (in Dream Theater
and Pain Of Salvation style), with some very whirling solo’s with a
lot of variation on the guitar. During the middle part, you get a
piece of alternative metal, but this perfectly fits with the rest
and it won’t bother the real prog fan.
After a
rather strange intro, the guitars get another outburst on “Fall
Down”, a progmetal track with a lot of references to Symphony X. You
can certainly compare the voice of Larry with Alan Russel’s, but
it’s a bit more polished. A very strong rhythm section and
interesting keyboard parts make this track very enjoyable and it’s
full of variation with the necessary changes in speed, while they
keep focussing on the melody. You can easily call this a cross-link
between Symphony X, Yes and Toto. Maybe that can help you to get an
idea how the music of Toxic Smile sounds.
A first break on the album is “Escape”, a track that follows
naturally from the art-rock like Pink Floyd and the more recent
RPWL. There are also some heavier parts with alternating parts on
the sax.
“Pyramid” immediately makes me think of Apocalyptica with the
propelling cellos, followed by duels between guitars and keyboards
and a very interesting composition on the drums. It’s no coincidence
that Dream Theater is one of their influences, because the songs are
often very complex. The vocals are better than their big example,
but that’s another story.
A bass intro in “Stop Now” opens a real rocker in genuine seventies
hard rock tradition (Deep Purple), with a very surprising jazzy end.
The ballad “Steps Back”, again superbly sung with a lot of emotion,
proves that Styx, Foreigner and other Toto’s are amongst their
references.
The highlight of the album, “Confidence In Deception” starts off
with an excellent classical piano intro. You immediately get the
feeling that this track will contain a lot of rhythmic variations.
And yes, after a few minutes the guitar and the drums slowly join
in, the tempo speeds up and this opens the gate for some progressive
creative dissipations. Again we get some duelling guitars and
keyboards, topped off with a crackling guitar solo. The keyboards
make me think of ELP, though they don’t really reach the virtuosity
of Keith Emerson. Another surprise is the combination of the
Gregorian vocals and rap; everything’s possible on this album.
The only criticism could be the
sometimes excessive use of all kinds of samples, as on
C.I.D.-addendum, but you’re a grumbler if that’s what’s holding you
off. A quiet interlude on saxophone serves as a warm-up for the
instrumental “O.T.”, which contains a false recorder at the end. (I
hope that was their intention ;-)). A bombastic start takes the
track to “Dream Theater” heights and the more jazzy parts refer to
The Flower Kings; the whole progscene gets a chance on this CD.
Another excellent track!
On “Sacrificial Flame”, the classical
background of the musicians is stressed once more. The last track
continues with this relative quiet part with an intro on the
acoustic guitar. “Heavsent” is a dark and even almost gothic track
(with a sniff Dead Soul Tribe and Pain Of Salvation), that bursts
with the obligatory changes in tempo.
In my opinion, Toxic Smile has made an album, that must appeal to
every genuine prog fan. As you can read in this review, there are a
lot of influences, but still the band has produced an original
piece. A pleasant surprise and an absolute must for your
CD-collection!
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