THE CHEMICAL CHAOS

This is my first album with this Germany band that was founded in 1991 by Volker Walsemann (vocals & guitars), Marco Ahrens (guitars), Christian Scheele (bass), Marcello Maniscalco (keyboards) and Andreas Tegeler (drums). This album is their fifth with line-up change from first. Marcello Maniscalco on the keyboards and bass player Christian Scheele left the band for other projects.

Even though the band has been classified under progressive metal box, their music is not exactly as heavy as Dream Theater or Symphony X. It's probably closer to Pain of Salvation or Fates Warning, IMHO. I may be wrong.

"Walk into nowhere" starts with an ambient sound of keyboard / organ with some guitar fills. When the music enters, the electric guitar solo brings to riffs with some guitar solo that welcomes the main rhythm to accompany vocal. The bass guitar solo during transition reminds me to Aghora (see my review in this site as well) where it is played in a style of jazz rock fusion music - sort of Stanley Clarke. The guitar solo during interlude is nice. This track has a good structure with unpredictable rhythm / melody and frequent tempo changes..

"Every kind of life" intro has a solo drum augmented with dynamic bass guitar work and bring the music into a faster tempo then slow down when guitar solo enters. It turns back to faster tempo in continuous style and let the lead voice in. This track was composed more straight forward with minimum variation of melody and tempo changes. But, it's an enjoyable track - especially the bass guitar and guitar work.

"All minds in one" intro reminds me of Pain of Salvation music with ambient and psychedelic style. It turns into faster tempo and slows down a bit when vocal enters. This tune is more melodic compared to previous tracks. The keyboard is played in symphonic style with some solo during transition. The interlude part with keyboard solo accompanied by dazzling bass is nice even though at first sounds so empty (musically). I would classify this track as a symphonic prog met. Excellent.

"A world without me" is a moderate/slow tempo at the opening and it flows with soft guitar riffs in continuous form. Again, it's like Pain of Salvation music. The wonderful part of this track is the inclusion of acoustic guitar fills in the middle of the track. The electric guitar solo that brings vocal line returns back to music or during voice line is really stunning.

The sixth track "Terminal trip" is a symphonic prog met instrumental piece that demonstrates keyboard, guitar and vibes in a good composition. The guitar solo at approx min 3:44 is simple and enjoyable. The use of vibe sound has enriched the track. "Pact with the past" is an ambient track with relatively long instrumental part in a driving rhythm section at opening. The music flows continuously at moderate tempo with some riffs. The tempo turns up at the ending part of the track.

"Left to chance" reminds me to the music of Symphony X especially on keyboard work. This track combines classic rock with prog met sound with simple piano touch. It's a melodic track with nice soft riffs. "Moving target" is simple in structure and quite melodic; good guitar solo during interlude with symphonic musical background. "Do what you feel" is the concluding track with many riffs, guitar and keyboard solos and great vibe sounds. The bonus track "Access denied" is a wonderful acoustic song.

Overall, I consider this album excellent. The only thing concerns me is probably about a bit "rough" riffs that I can hear clearly through out this album. It's probably the issue of mixing not performance. For those of you who like prog met genre should try this one. Rating 3.75 / 5. GW, Indonesia.

Whoa! Where did these guys come from? Actually, Germany is where POVERTY'S NO CRIME hail from. The great sound this band commands really caught me by surprise. I was duly impressed, so much that I listened to "The Chemical Chaos" repeatedly, at least five times. The more I heard it the more I thought about bands like DREAM THEATER and The FLOWER KINGS. Their powerful riffing combined with a well-built layer of keyboards and the vocals brought the thoughts of the other powerhouse groups to mind.

The main ingredient that attracted me was their reliability in every song, solid musicianship, and melodic sense while playing high-test prog-metal. I think it takes real talent to play such heavy music and be able to make it a little softer and more appealing to a broader audience than one specific group of listeners. This band has what it takes to catch many ears that enjoy rock music. I find the meaning of their name paradoxical, although I really do not know how they came up with it or what it means to them, their music is far from being impoverished. This group is basking in the glow of its rich musical powers. I am baffled as to why I never heard of them before, yet I realize there are probably many more bands out there that I have not had the joy of listening to yet.

Once you hear the hooks in the opening track "Walk Into Nowhere," it will take a matter of minutes for you to decide whether this music is for you. I would be willing to bet that most of you, particularly the prog-metal enthusiast, will not be able to get this album out of rotation in their stereos for a while. Let me know what happens when you get it. Progressive Metal rules!

I like this cd a lot, it's a very melodic but hard hitting record. I think most agree that this is their best album, but "Slave To Mind" is another excellent release by them.

"Walk Into Nowhere" opens with some atmosphere as sounds come and go until the song kicks into gear a minute in. Check out the bass ! Nice melodic guitar and then the vocals arrive followed by a galloping rhythm. A chunky bass solo is next before the vocals return. Some killer guitar 3 1/2 minutes in that goes on for some time. Just a feel good track. "Every Kind Of Life" is a darker track with more good bass as guitar plays over top. Love when the vocals come in with blazing synths. This one is very uptempo once the vocals came in. The tempo does shift throughout though. The organ is a nice touch 4 minutes in. "All Minds In One" opens with acoustic guitar and reserved vocals. Guitars and heaviness come crashing in. Check out the guitar melody 3 1/2 minutes in followed by some deep bass a minute later then organ. "A World Without Me" is the only track that i'm not a fan of. It does end well though.

"Terminal Trip" is an absolutely killer instrumental. The bass, the riffs, the background synths all work perfectly. "Pact With The Past" opens with some cool drumming and crying guitar before piano and then heaviness arrives. Vocals 2 1/2 minutes as it settles down. Heaviness is back 4 minutes in with some great organ runs joining in as well. Themes are repeated. "Left To Chance" is heavy duty to open as synths join in. It calms down as piano and vocals come in. The contrast continues. Check out the wicked guitar 1 1/2 minutes in. Great tune. "Moving Target" opens with riffs as vocals join in. Tasteful guitar follows then piano. Back to the riffs as the contrast continues. "Do What You Feel" opens with a flute like sound and then choir sounds before a sinister guitar riff comes in. The tempo picks up and slows down quickly. This is probably my favourite track. It rocks ! Heavy low end guitar is back with background synths joining in then vocals. Sounds like vibes 4 1/2 minutes in as the song rebuilds. Blistering guitar 6 1/2 minutes in.

A solid 4 star Prog-Metal album.

With this release, Pioverty's no Crime climbs to a higher level in prog metal, that is for sure, their best album , at least for me. Now they reached the peak of their career with The chemical chaos from 2003. Everything is top notch here, from excellent, in places quite impressive musicianship to the spectacular chops and obsolutly stunning keybords arrangements made by Jörg Springup. The voice again is at higher level, the instrumental passages are classy as ever, cab beat any well known prog metal band from this genre, the instrumental track called Terminal trip or the intro of the longest pieces from here Pact withe past, shows how great this band is and how strong ideas they have. I must say that they are better then most of the bands from today in prog metal zone, with this album they prove that they need a wider recognition, who by the way is a little unnoticed here in PA. From the slower moments, with guitar shines on every note galoping through keyboards and bass passages that will envy any prog metal musician, Poverty's No Crime did it with this album, really a fantastic and full of catchy tune. Well done guys, I msut admit I never expected to sound so strong in first place. Recommended band and this album in particular, one of the most pleasent albums from prog metal subgenre I've come across latley, 4 stars for sure. This band needs to be discovered by a larger public, they worth it.

Back with their fifth album, Poverty's No Crime show no signs of slowing down with yet another hard rocking set. While some of these songs probably come under the prog metal banner, there are other which are much more straightforward melodic hard rock. Opener "Walk Into Nowhere" is a good snapshot of the whole of the album ? there are times when it is riffing hard, times when it is soft and gentle, sometimes all of the band rocking hard and at others it is just vocals and acoustic guitar. All of the time it is keeping to a strong melody so that even though the music is flowing and changing it is very easy to listen to. This would be a great gig opener, as it would really pump up the crowd. But what makes this song for me is the small gap where a few finger popped bass notes make their appearance felt and linger ? it is small nuances that can really make a song.

Each song flows into the next, and the band is happy blasting along or just playing gently, but this never lasts for too long. On "Every Kind Of life" the guitars are blasting out while the keyboards gently follow the vocal melody, simple stuff but it works. Strong production helps the music to be captured at its' best, and the result is an album that is full of powerful songs and rocking guitars that anybody who enjoys prog metal will have to have in their collection. Superb.

Originally appeared in Feedback #78, April 2004