Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Poverty's No Crime
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2007
A good four years have passed since the last release from German prog heavyweights Poverty’s No Crime, The Chemical Chaos (2003). The creative break has done the guys a world of good – Save My Soul is quite possibly the brightest moment of their fifteen-year career.
Poverty’s No Crime are living proof that even progressive metal can be very accessible and easy to listen to, which is the most common criticism of the genre. The German quintet is certainly technically skilled, but they also know how to write great melodies and well-thought-out compositions that don’t lean on too many technical detours, and on top of all that they deliver intelligent lyrics. Poverty’s No Crime don’t suffer from the pretentiousness you can pin on many a progressive band, and Save My Soul is no different – it’s a carefully thought-out, varied and above all thrilling piece of work.
The new record keeps the familiar Poverty’s No Crime sound, which you could describe as Threshold meets Vanden Plas with a dash of Opeth and Dream Theater thrown in, but you can tell that Save My Soul is probably their most mature album. The guys have grown as individuals and become even stronger as a band! Save My Soul revolves around themes that touch on the dark sides of the human soul – anger, sadness, despair, fear. The themes are translated into the music brilliantly, as it moves back and forth between light and darkness. The darkness is painted by sawing guitars, staccato riffs, aggressive solos and atmospheric keyboards, and the light is conjured up by melodic passages, harmonies, acoustic guitars and gentler keyboard rhythms. That’s exactly where the idea of the album hides: even the toughest moments in life can be overcome, because there’s always light waiting at the end. Admittedly, the idea isn’t exactly fresh, but it’s translated into the music well.
Even though Save My Soul is steeped in a dark, aggressive atmosphere, the album doesn’t surrender to those dark feelings, since lighter moments shine through, mostly in the fantastic, catchy, melodic choruses. The opening track Open Your Eyes illustrates this perfectly. It follows a completely unnecessary but thankfully short Intro, and it pulls us into the album with fierce, aggressive staccato riffs, while the pulse is calmed by a great chorus that gets stuck in your head fast. There’s no arguing with the Germans’ instrumental virtuosity, as all 53 minutes of the album prove, and the cherry on top is the excellent vocalist Volker, whose distinctive voice gives the songs a completely new atmosphere. The title track Save my Soul is the proof: the vocals, gorgeous melodies and sharp riffs paint a truly beautiful picture. Poverty’s No Crime have never sounded so alive! A potential hit hides in the excellent, atypical ballad The Key to Creativity, which boasts an emotional vocal performance, gorgeous acoustic melodies and, once again, infectious choruses. On The Torture, Poverty’s No Crime treat themselves to an experimental excursion with low-tuned guitars that sound almost doom-like, creating an ominous atmosphere watched over by Volker’s soaring vocals. The instrumental Spellbound might make prog fans drool a little. It’s a fantastic piece of work, though at times, sadly, it reminds you a bit too much of Dream Theater – but at least of their best moments. The album couldn’t have ended any better than with the epic, nine-and-a-half-minute masterpiece Break The Spell, which takes our breath away right at the finish.
Save My Soul isn’t a new revolution in progressive metal, but it’s a very pleasant surprise and one of the better progressive metal releases of this year, one that can hold its own against releases from giants like Dream Theater, Symphony X and the like. Poverty’s no crime, but overlooking this album would be.
Lineup
Volker Walsemann – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Marco Ahrens – guitar
Heiko Spaarman – bass guitar
Andreas Tegeler – drums
Jörg Springub – keyboards
Production
Poverty’s No Crime
Tracklist
1. Intro 00:37
2. Open Your Eyes 04:51
3. Save My Soul 06:27
4. End In Sight 03:55
5. The Key To Creativity 05:33
6. In The Wait Loop 06:47
7. The Torture 03:59
8. Spellbound 06:06
9. From A Distance 05:56
10. Break The Spell 09:24
