POVERTY'S NO CRIME - "SLAVE TO THE MIND" (INSIDE OUT MUSIC)
POVERTY'S NO CRIME - "SLAVE TO THE MIND" (INSIDE OUT MUSIC)
After "Symbiosis" and "The Autumn Years" on Noise Records, "Slave to the Mind" is Poverty's no Crime's first album on Inside Out Music, home of some very interesting acts.
In the truest tradition of progressive metal, Poverty's no Crime has recorded a musically pretty challenging album with a totally ace production. I love the way you can really hear the bass guitar as well, unlike with some major progressive acts in fact. Especially where rather more complex music is being recorded, it's mandatory for the sound to be impeccable, and this band scores high on that point.
"Slave to the Mind" shows a consistent high level of playing and songwriting, though "Access Denied" and "Electronic Eyes" lift themselves even a bit higher than that. Vocalist/guitarist Volker Walsemann's singing is great throughout the album as well, even though the actual lyrical content adds preciously little. And the beautiful thing about this album is that it doesn't just sound good and the musicians can't just play their instruments really well - no, they've actually written some mesmerizing songs that will stick to haunt you.
RK
Written August 1999