Poverty's No Crime - The Chemical Chaos
InsideOut Music
Progressive Metal/Rock
10 songs ()
Release year: 2003
InsideOut Music
Reviewed by Crims

Poverty’s No Crime is a Progressive Metal/Rock outfit from Germany who have been around since 1991 and have five full-length releases, including this one, to call their own. Featured in this band are Volker Walsemann (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Marco Ahrens (guitars), Jörg Springub (keyboards), Heiko Spaarman (bass), and Andreas Tegeler (drums). The Chemical Chaos is a solid Prog release that features a couple different major influences and comes together nicely due to the skill level of the band members involved.

Poverty’s No Crime actually sounds a little bit like Pagan’s Mind, that is if you took out a large chunck of the Metal, and added in more Rock. In this sense, the band is somewhat similar to Dream Theater but the melodies and execution are totally different. Most of the songs are of course long and the tempo is generally mid-paced with a lot of atmospheric breaks, though like any good Prog band Poverty’s No Crime can play fast too. There isn’t a lot of progressive wankery going on either (if you want to call it that), as the songs are concisely put together and feature a lot of change ups, but everything has a point and doesn’t rear off into an out of place one minute fret-board massage (for the record I don’t have a problem with so-called “wanking” but I know some people do). There are heavier riffs, sometimes being similar to Symphony X, but for the most part the guitars are more influenced by, or at least sound more like what’s found in Everon, Aztec Jade, and even Rush to a certain extent. The bass is always up front in every song, with many sections containing bass and drum only break downs, which works well because the bass player is quite good and does a good job of staying within the confides off the song. The keyboards also play a big role in the sound of Poverty’s No Crime; they do just about everything from creating textures in the atmosphere, performing leads, and even providing a little piano. Most commonly though the keyboards are used for string synth.

One thing I really like about this CD is how clean the sound is. It’s a very easy CD to listen to as the vocalist has a pure and pleasant voice that while not having the largest range fits the band perfectly. As to be expected from an Inside Out band the production is very fitting with every instrument being easily audible and the guitars having an especially clear tone. The vocal and guitar melodies are well put-together and this is the type of CD that you can put on for background music or listen intently to and still enjoy either way, however, what you get out of the CD will vary. Poverty’s No Crime do what they do very well with the right amount of complexity and finesse to make the songs interesting and engrossing; the only real problem is that they sound a lot like most other Prog bands and don’t really have anything in their sound to separate them from the rest of the bands out there, especially on the Inside Out label, although, they do use piano a lot more effectively than most. I would also have preferred to hear more of the heavier side of the band, but that’s just a personal preference due to my tastes, but Poverty’s No Crime sound really good when they bust out the double bass and heavy riffing.

If you find yourself liking most of the bands on the Inside Out label, or just Progressive Metal/Rock in general The Chemical Chaos would be a worthy addition to your collection as the song writing is strong and the CD has a lot to offer since the band changes up their tempos and atmosphere’s so much. If you prefer the Progressive Metal side of things, stay with your Pagan’s Mind and Symphony X, but if you don’t mind a band that dabbles in the progressive rock side of things as well definitely check these guys out.

Killing Songs :
Walking Into Nowhere, All Minds In One, Terminal Trip, Left To Chance, Moving Target
Crims quoted 85 / 100
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