HENNING PAULY is the creative mastermind behind CHAIN and FRAMESHIFT, which I've admittedly never heard of, just as I've never heard of Henning himself. Anyway, "Credit Where Credit Is Due" is the German's second solo effort, and I am indeed rather surprised by it.

Together with the excellent vocalist Juan Ross (according to HENNING PAULY, he's somewhere in-between David Coverdale and Geoff Tate) and supported by Matt Cash (whom Henning has worked with in the past), HENNING PAULY has successfully crafted a really strong Modern Metal album. I will simply call it Modern Metal for generalization's sake, as in reality there's much more to "Credit...". Henning, who has played all instruments himself here except for the drums (I suspect a drum machine was used), has combined Rock, Metal, Industrial and samples into a truly harmonious piece of music. Apart from the ingredients mentioned there is a slight progressive edge to the music, but it does remain coherent and catchy throughout. Apart from a certain sense of humour ("Scheisslautundhartwiedreck", which roughly translates to "fuckingloudandheavyashell"), HENNING PAULY also surprised with an ordinarily rather un-Metal instrument, namely the banjo (on the title track or on "Six"). The nice thing about "Credit..." in my opinion, though, is that it simply contains many good songs, brimming over with variety. "Three", "Radio Sucks" or the glorious "German Metalhead" are not the only highlights here by far. I don't want to talk about each single song as it'd take too long, so just trust me when I say there's plenty to discover on "Credit..."; it's not gonna get boring even after multiple spins. Furthermore, be sure to keep an eye on Juan Ross' future exploits. The fellow contributes significantly to the success of this disc.

HENNING PAULY is a true surprise for me. As I said, I'm not familiar with the music he makes apart from this, but this is a really good album and a lot of fun. If you wanted to you could make some weak comparisons to DEVIN TOWNSEND or TRENT REZNOR, but on the other hand this guy's quite unique in what he does. If you are open minded, do listen to this album. It is an insiders' tip! ;-) ...and to Henning: more, please!

Recommended listening: "Three", "German Metalhead", "Radio Sucks"

(Online January 22, 2007)