THE CHEMICAL CHAOS

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!