PROPAGANDA

CHAOSE CODE's third release is another thought provoking album with the title giving away the theme.Their web-site gives a detailed definition of what "propaganda" means and then gives quotes from many famous people in history that relates to this subject. All three of their albums have been extremely well thought out lyrically and conceptually. But anyone who knows me knows it's the music itself that matters most, and this one is my least favourite of the three. The first being my favourite. Actually Finnforest gives a really good comparison of the three records in his review of "Propaganda".

"The Chameleon" has such a catchy melody as sax enters the song 3 minutes in. The interplay is fantastic between the sax, drums and guitar on this track. The song reverts back to the original melody after 4 1/2 minutes. "Calling To The Shadows" is a short instrumental with acoustic guitar and trumpet leading the way for a minute and a half before the flute comes in and replaces the trumpet. "A New Domination" might be my favourite track on this record. This is a GENTLE GIANT influenced song that sounds great ! The drumming is outstanding as sax and flute are also used in this tune. I was reminded of RUSH after 6 minutes and the soundscape that follows is amazing.

"The Last Assignment" is the longest song and it opens with a jazzy soundscape.The guitar 4 1/2 minutes in is relaxed and long. Nice. There is a long pastoral interlude of light drums, synths and guitar. Then we are treated to some pleasant guitar melodies before 10 minutes and then the drummer just shows off. Haha. "Revisiting History" is a slower moving song that speeds up instrumentally after 2 minutes. "Saturation" opens with vocals, guitar and drums. The vocals are almost spoken and i'm reminded of ZAPPA here, perhaps even ECHOLYN. "Bacon For Swine" is a short song with what sounds like processed vocals. "Fortune Cookie Leaflet" has some good, tasteful guitar for 3 1/2 minutes and then synths take over as it gets quite spacey the rest of the way. It blends into the next song "In The Revealing Light" which really has the same melody. The final track "Emergence" is really a reprise of the opening song "The Chameleon".

This is really good music but for my tastes it doesn't come close to their debut.There is no mellotron on this one and less vocals than the other two records. 3.5 stars.