Prog4you.com - Progressive Rock Review

: : Chain.exe : :

I thought it was impossible to hold your breath for 38 minutes. After hearing the epic song Cities from the magnificent Chain.exe, I’m not so sure anymore. Cities is the first song on the album, conveniently broken up into seven tracks to make finding a favorite part easier. The song begins with crunching metal guitars, then smoothes out into a beautiful piano melody that carries the listener into the vocals, initially sung by Michael Sadler. The number of guests on this album is amazing, and the quality of their performances—even the lesser known ones—is simply astounding. Cities itself has five vocalists: Matt Cash, Saga vocalist Michael Sadler, Maya Haddi, Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Jody Ashworth, and Edward Heppenstall. The shining moment in this masterpiece occurs during the fifth track, or at about 22 minutes into the song, a purely acappella section that is only a little over a minute long, but gives Cities the final bump to cement its status as a “we’re not worthy!” song. The sheer brilliance of the acappella part begs for a reprise, which Chain graciously provides a bit later into the song. This acappella part is so intricate, it’s nearly difficult to keep up with, but I somehow managed to pick out six distinct vocal parts. As the track concludes nearly 40 minutes from its beginning, acoustic guitars and banjo allow the song to finally release its grasp on the listener’s windpipe and let them breathe again.

The next song, She Looks Like You, provides a look at a Chain power ballad. Piano and a synthesized cello bring back memories of songs played on soft-rock radio stations, but following with the Chain tradition, they rip right back in to metal. Some sharp harmonies from Matt Cash add depth without sounding overdone.

Contrary to the soft intro to She Looks Like You, Eama Hut slams right into full-blown metal. This is an intense song that is certain to appeal to fans of prog metal, while not alienating the fans of more symphonic prog. A very strong, grooving bass line from Christian Becker paves the way for some impressive “stunt bass” from Sean Andrews.

Just a tip: don’t listen to Never Leave the Past Behind while driving. No matter how many times you listen to it, the almost chant-like deep vocals in the beginning will always give you a pleasant startle that is just enough to drive you off the road. Just a pleasant reminder of how amazing the singing is on this album.

A cover of Saga’s Hot to Cold stays remarkably similar to the original track, which is really no surprise seeing that Saga’s very own Michael Sadler sings a good portion of the vocals, while still allowing room for Matt Cash to pipe in a bit. This is one cover that will not disappoint Saga fans.

This album concludes with the second best track (after Cities, of course), Last Chance to See. Dedicated to the late Douglas Adams—author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series—this song makes many references to his books, and even takes a guitar melody from the original theme to the Hitchhiker’s radio series. While people without any knowledge of Adams’ books may be a bit confused by the lyrics, this song left this Hitchhiker’s fan practically giggling with delight. Victoria Trevithick provides some very smooth singing, and the vocal appearance by Mike Keneally adds another dimension of cool to this already superb track. Mr. Keneally also throws in a little bonus guitar solo that goes on a bit too long, but is still nice to hear. A short speaking track apparently taken from one of the audiobooks of the Hitchhiker’s series—read by Adams himself—concludes the album. As if the inclusion of all of the references to Adams’ writing wasn’t enough, the drummer Eddie Marvin even took his name from characters from the Hitchhiker’s works. A very sneaky and clever way to pay homage to an idol.

Dare I say that this is one of the best albums of 2004? Yes. I say that with no doubt in my mind. Henning Pauly once said that progressive rock was “ashitloadofwork”, and in response to that, I must say that the work has paid off well. Hats off to Chain and everyone involved for producing an album that will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most beautiful prog metal efforts.

Reviewer: Loucke

9 out of 10.

: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :

: : Discography : :
Reconstruct - 2002
Chain.exe - 2004

: : Record Label : :
Progrock Records

You can also purchase this CD from
ProgRock Records