Chain Chain.Exe

I thought Chain’s first effort was pretty solid stuff, but lacked a necessary cohesiveness and focus. I probably should have cut them some slack; it was, after all, a debut disc. Also, they showed enough talent on it to promise strong returns for their next outing... And they didn’t disappoint. “Chain.exe” offers up a mean multi-part composition called “Cities”, some strong performances by all involved and even some licks from a banjo. Don’t knock it, it works.

Contributing a hand in this effort are luminaries like guitarist Mike Keneally, Saga vocalist Michael Sadler and Trans-Siberian Orchestra vocalist Jody Ashworth. They provide more than just wrenches in the works and actually compliment the goings-on, but the real guts of the disc lie in vocalist Matt Cash and multi-instrumentalist Henning Pauly. When the sound is raw and hard, I think your average metal-head would gladly approve, and when they take it down, the listener is allowed to appreciate the stuff going on behind the scenes, like that banjo work I mentioned before. It’s probably a first for progrock. The orchestra hits a’la programming through “Eama Hut” are also very nice and surprisingly naturalistic (often a rarity that such samples don’t sound exactly as artificial as they are).

While I appreciated the longer tracks and the go-for-it audacity of “Cities 1 – 7”, “She Looks Like You” gets my nod as best of disc. Yeah, it’s the ballad, but it breaks with the navel gazing prog sometimes wallows in, and when it grinds into the midsection of the song, guitars wailing, the track stands up next to anything rock radio is offering at this very moment. Plus, one gets the impression Chain has a thought in its head, another trait the new metal scene often lacks. Some of the heavy fans may not warm to Cash’s obviously vulnerable, heart/sleeve vocals, but that’s okay. This isn’t really for them. So what we have here is one long hopscotch jump from square one to square six. I’m looking forward to the next round.

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Release Date: September 01, 2004
Tracks: 12 - Time: 66:04
Produced by: Henning Pauly
Format: CD
Website: www.chainexe.com

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