Chain - Reconstruct

Year of Release: 2003
Label: ProgRock Records
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 79:32:00

Chain was founded by keyboardist Stephan Kernbach in 1994 and drummer Thorsten Hannig and bassist Christian Becker when they were 15 years old. They teamed up with guitarist Henning Pauly and started writing and rehearsing but unfortunately the story did not go any further. That is until 2002 when Pauly found the tape they recorded during their rehearsals and started working on them. He found singer Matt Cash and in 2002 they finally recorded the album they should have recorded eight years earlier!

The result is a very good album called Reconstruct, a concept on evolution: It starts before there was life on earth and goes all the way through time, to the moment all life ends and a new cycle begins. The booklet of the CD gives a synopsis of the story with the matching tracks. The album contains 10 tracks, including 2 instrumentals, and 7 so-called "Earthscapes" which at times gives the album a sort of film score touch. Reconstruct contains balanced progressive rock with many metal influences, fantastic guitar solos and besides the synthesizer arrangements, also piano parts. There are many breaks and melody changes in the album and the "Earthscapes" also contain spoken parts, as if they are samples from a movie.

It is very hard to talk about the individual tracks, as you should listen to this album as a whole. Chain manages to create a varying atmosphere, from ambient to metal, with an excellent vocalist. In the ballad "Missing Link" you can enjoy the pleasant sounding voice of Cash, with a slight country and western touch to his vocals. Another beautiful song, again a ballad, is "The Planet Is Fine," where the vocals have more power. But again: it is hard to capture the sound of Chain in words, you just have to hear the complete album to get then idea.

Besides the strong composing qualities, the production is also very good and they have a challenging subject that will give you food for thought. So not only the music lover can enjoy this one, but also philosophers and intellectuals can try this one. Bottom line: excellent prog album with lots of metal riffs and influences and everything else you want. One last thing about the lyrics: in the credits you can see some familiar names: Douglas Adams (author of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy), John Cleese and Graham Chapman! Well, it is about the Meaning of Life, in nearly 80 minutes! Enjoy it.

Similar Bands: Arena, Dream Theater

[This review originally appeared October 2003 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]
Tracklisting:
Earthscape I / Before there was / First Life / Earthscape II / Impact / Earthscape III / Incommunicado Prisoners Of Silence / Missing Link / Earthscape IV / The Augmented Animal / Conspiracy / Earthscape V / The Planet Is Fine / Signs / Earthscape VI / What there Will Be / Earthscape VII

Musicians:
Matt Cash - vocals
Stephan Kernbach - keys
Christian Becker - bass
Thorsten Hannig - drums
Henning Pauly - guitars

Discography:
Reconstruct (2003)
Chain.exe (2004)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin DE

Added: December 9th 2004
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.jinglegroup.com/chain.html
Hits: 2428
Language: english