III- CHANGING POISON INTO MEDECINE

Unfortunately at a time when Hansi Cross was dreaming for a career within the prog community, his main collaborator Benny Hadders was thinking of quiting not only from Cross but actually from music.Under these circumstances the third album, and this was going to be a really long one, started with Hadders as the drummer, but had to be completed with a couple of guests sitting on the drum stool plus some programmed percussion.By 1993 Cross listed himself and Tai as the only regular members of the band and ''Changing poison into medicine'', the new album, featured several guests on keyboards, guitar, bass and voices.LyxVax was again the running label, on which the album was released.

At least the direction of the band was the proper one, I guess that the emerge of a few full-blown Prog acts from the area (Sweden was one of the greatest contributors in Prog Rock's 90's revival) had something to do with the fact.Of course Cross had no intention to sound like a Retro Prog band, but they had now refined the familiar influences and decided to divide the album in long and emphatic proggy compositions and some Pop tracks, which still hold interest from a progressive point of view.''Changing poison into medicine'' can be properly labeled as a Neo Prog album, there are some strong insprations from 75'-77' GENESIS throughout the album to go along with the modern qualities, plenty of synthesizers, propulsive rhythms, instant melodies and a slight AOR/Hard Rock pomposity.But the tracks sound pretty well balanced, the material is memorable, some keyboard and guitar passages are trully fascinating, while the symphonic elements begin to become clearly detectable in several tracks.Hansi was always a talented man and by producing a 75+ min. album he secured that some of the material would be really great, cause this work is not extremely consistent as a whole.But the longer pieces are cool with dramatic atmospheres and dreamy instrumental parts, even if a richer sound is missing, while the short ones contain some nice ideas and rockin' themes.

Period Prog by Hansi Cross on this one, more or less a Neo Prog album with melodic, light symphonic and pompous orientations and an evident AOR essence.Still an improvement over the pair of Cross' initial works, featuring series of impressive melodies and a few enganging instrumental leaks.Recommended, especially if the poppier side of Prog is your thing.