Shortly after the band put their point over live to the public, as support to bands such as Depressive Age and Waltari, and took the opportunity of underlining their unusual talent. In the mid-90s the band signed for the Berlin record company Noise Records, who were known in the eighties as being the label of such German metal giants as Helloween and Gamma Ray.
Their debut album, Symbiosis, recorded in the T&T-Studios in Gelsenkirchen and produced by John McGowan (Headhunter etc.), was released in Spring 1995 and was warmly greeted by the press. "With this homogenous, deep and convincing CD debut, Poverty's No Crime have more fulfilled their inherent promise and have formed a solid foundation for their future", praised ROCK HARD, one of Germany's two mega-metal-mags.
The combo then began preparation for The Autumn Years. Spring 1996 saw the release of their second album and once again the review pages of the metal press glowed with praise. This time, the ROCK HARD reviewer named the CD his Album of the month, whilst EMP, in their catalogue-mag raved, "Proggers of all shapes, color and sizes simply must buy the album of this absolutely unique band".
The Autumn Years was received with positive reactions not only in Germany, but also abroad. BURRN, Japan's Heavy Metal-Bible, gave the album 88 out of 100 points and readers voted the Germany into the Top 20 of the Album Charts.
The album had scarcely been released than the musicians - despite a distinct lack of suitable financial support from their record company - went on tour with Victory and followed this up with a special guest slot on the Virgin Steele/Angra-Tour which covered half of the European continent in 1996. Tremendous praise was showered on the band following their live performances in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Switzerland. Despite all this, Noise Records surprisingly ended their relationship with the band, yet the lads were more determined than ever before and gave more live shows, one of them with Skyclad.
After a generous break to consolidate their ranks, the five musicians continued to follow their dream and, from January 1997, began writing songs for a new album. Poverty's No Crime found a new business (and ideological) home at Inside Out Music, currently Germany`s most important Prog-Metal label, who also have such great bands as Spock`s Beard, Symphony X, Vanden Plas, Platypus, Enchant and Eldritch under their contractual wing. Inside Out Music are known of signing only a certain, carefully and selected contingent of bands, whom they know they can support with great enthusiasm. In view of this, the liaison between Poverty's No Crime and Inside Out Music seems to be under a lucky star.
Reviewing Slave to the Mind, the first result of this hopeful relationship, "(Hardrock & Metal) Hammer", Germany's Nr. 1 rock music magazine wrote in their August '99 edition, "This is what makes progmetal enjoyable - no long egoistic solos, no disturbing breaks, no endless I-love-me arias, but just - despite opulent decoration - straight arrangements, memorable hooks and melodic choruses... Some of the material remind me of the glorious Marillion days ("Wind And Light"), some of early Fates Warning ("The Senses Go Blind"), and yet Slave to the Mind never loses its own individual touch. A great album from a great band!"
In the late 1999 Poverty's No Crime faced the first major line-up change when Marcello Maniscalco on the keyboards and bass player Christian Scheele left the band for other projects. Unimpressed by this loss, new material was written just by the remaining three musicians. However, just before entering the studio for the recordings of One in a Million the right guy for the vacant position behind the keyboards was found: Jörg Springub proved his perfect fit for the band with an impressing performance on the record.
One in a Million was released in June 2001 and once again the international music press showed remarkably positive reactions. Right after the album-release bass player Heiko Spaarmann completed the line up and the combo played some successful shows together with bands like Vanden Plas, Zero Hour, Pain of Salvation and Anathema.
Two years have passed since then and Poverty's No Crime took a deep breath of fresh creativity. Again they spent two month at the Soundgarten Studio and the result will hit the record stores this fall. In the end of October The Chemical ChaosTHE CHEMICAL CHAOS, the bands' fifth record will be released in Europe as well as in North America via Inside Out Music. Initial plans for a tour are already in motion, whilst winter 2003 will see the band on stage at various shows. So let's hope that the poverty in the combo's name will soon become artistic fortune.
Open Your Eyes
Poverty's No Crime Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So dead tired - awake in the night
Fake my world - state of confusion
Waste my time - I'm forced to comply
Open your eyes
See through the dust in your sight
Something like truth in disguise
Feelings get lost in your mind
The curse of the moment remains
Selfish life - only illusive
Sense of sight - a man with a child's eye
Instant fall away
Live my life the way it's meant to be
Take my soul
You fake my world and waste my time
You make me wan to die
Open your eyes
See through the dust in your sight
Memories they melt in your mind
The door is open wide
Feelings get lost in your life
The curse of the moment remains
End the fight - stand aside - take me as I am
My hands are tied - I stake my life
To open up my eyes
Get me now - make-believe
Save me from the fall
You take my soul - you fake my world
And waste my time - won't leave me as I am
The song "Open Your Eyes" by the German progressive metal band Poverty's No Crime speaks about the struggle of an individual who is abused emotionally, mentally, and physically and is forced to comply with the abuser's wishes. The victim is portrayed as being dead tired and unable to stand upright, hinting towards the abuse's physical aspect. The line "fake my world- state of confusion" reflects how the abuser's manipulation and gaslighting has created a distorted reality for the victim, and he finds himself trapped in the state of confusion, unsure of what to do. The singer is forced to waste his time doing things he does not want to do and is on the verge of giving up hope.
The chorus "Open your eyes, see through the dust in your sight, something like truth in disguise. The door is open wide, feelings get lost in your mind, the curse of the moment remains" urges the victim to overcome the abuse and see through the lies and deceit of the abuser. The dust represents the confusion created by the abuser and how the truth may be hidden under it. The door being open wide refers to the potential to escape the situation and to take control of feelings that may have become lost.
The lyrics are a call to end the fight with the abuser and to take the singer as he is. The line "my hands are tied - I stake my life to open up my eyes" suggests that the singer has given up everything, and the only thing he has left to lose is his life. By opening his eyes, he becomes more aware of his situation, which causes him to stand up for himself and eventually overcome the abuse.
Line by Line Meaning
Abused by you - can't stand upright
Your abuse has weakened me to the point where I cannot stand straight.
So dead tired - awake in the night
The exhaustion caused by your treatment of me keeps me up all night.
Fake my world - state of confusion
You have created a false world for me, leaving me deeply confused.
Waste my time - I'm forced to comply
I am forced to comply with your demands, wasting my precious time.
Open your eyes
Start seeing the reality of our situation.
See through the dust in your sight
Cut through the haze you have created for yourself and see the truth.
Something like truth in disguise
There is a disguised truth in our situation.
The door is open wide
There is a way out of this situation - it's up to you to take it.
Feelings get lost in your mind
Your emotions have become jumbled and you have lost touch with them.
The curse of the moment remains
The negative consequences of our situation continue to haunt us.
Selfish life - only illusive
Your selfish lifestyle is not real, but merely an illusion.
Sense of sight - a man with a child's eye
You may have sight, but you don't have the maturity to use that sight wisely.
Instant fall away
Our situation could quickly and easily take a turn for the worse.
Live my life the way it's meant to be
I am going to live my life on my own terms, in the way I choose.
Take my soul
You are slowly draining the life out of me.
You fake my world and waste my time
You have created a false world for me and continue to waste my time.
You make me wan to die
Your treatment of me is so unbearable that I wish to end my own life.
Memories they melt in your mind
Your memories have become distorted and unreliable due to the situation we're in.
End the fight - stand aside - take me as I am
Stop fighting me and accept me for who I am.
My hands are tied - I stake my life
I am taking a huge risk by standing up to you, but I am willing to do so.
Get me now - make-believe
Wake up and see the truth of our situation, rather than pretending everything is okay.
Save me from the fall
Help me avoid the negative consequences of this situation.
Won't leave me as I am
I refuse to stay the same and will work to change my situation.
Contributed by Alexis H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bernd Apel
Sind ihrem Stil treu geblieben, aber mit der Zeit gegangen und haben sich noch gesteigert. Was für ein Brett von einem Song . Chapeaux
Tyestor
opening riff = michael myers theme from halloween LUL