DEADSOUL TRIBE

Progressive metal can be a very powerful musical force, as demonstrated by Dead Soul Tribe on this their second album. This has seen the band rein in the keyboards so that they aren't as dominant as before and crank up the guitars so that the metal part of the prog metal tag is the one that people hear. The ideas are very much still there, with musical twists aplenty, but the sheer crunch of this album is more brutal than many within this genre. The guitars are now even further to the fore than our own mighty Threshold, and it certainly gives the album a different perspective.

There is a real intensity about this album, so much so that at times it becomes like a great weight, which does take away from the enjoyment of it. After a while it gets that it is almost a chore to listen to, which is not how music should be at all. This isn't a CD to be played for a bit of light relief in the background, it is music that demands commitment. Because of that it is an album that needs to be selected from, as opposed to played in its' entirety. When dipped into there are some great songs and performances but as for listening to the whole thing repeatedly then that is another matter altogether.

"A Lullaby For The Devil" is Deadsoul Tribe's fifth album but my first purchase of their work although I had heard the excellent "Some things you can't return" (from their second album A Murder Of Crows) on an InsideOut sampler disk.

"A Lullaby For The Devil" is very impressive covering a number of music styles but generally on the heavier side of Prog. All the tracks are excellent with the opening track Pschosphere more metal in style.

Devon Graves undertakes most of the instrumentation (guitars, bass, keyboards, flute) ably assisted by drummer Adel Moustafa. The stand out features are the quality of the lyrics, Devon Graves' voice and the use of Tull-style flute which adds an extra dimension to the instrumentation. The tracks have good arrangements with quite a bit of complexity under what seems a relatively simple structure.

An excellent addition to any prog rock music collection. 4 stars.

Modern Metal with Some Highlights

When I first began returning to prog several years ago, Deadsoul Tribe's Lullaby for the Devil was new. It came up on numerous internet mixes and I enjoyed the tracks and bought the album. Here on PA, however, the opinion seemed to be much more enthusiastic for the earlier MURDER OF CROWS. It took me awhile to pick up the album, and when I did I was a bit disappointed. There's virtually nothing on this album that isn't done better on the newer disc.

DST's sound is a kind of Tool-lite with frontman Devon Graves having better vocal abilities than Maynard but not nearly as much batcrap crazy that is actually the driving force of the band. The rhythm section is not nearly as good as Tool's, though the electric guitars are much better at least when they play lead. In fact, the instrumental sections with lead guitar (and if we're really lucky flute) are the best parts of the album, but they are too few. Though Graves' vocals are in some ways too perfect technically, he just doesn't write very good melodies. Probably the only memorable one for me is "In a Garden Made of Stones," which I do find myself singing along with. The lyrics are typical dark angst-y stuff, but aren't nearly as deep as Graves thinks they are.

MURDER OF CROWS is also not that progressive. I love metal in 3, but that's not enough to make you prog. Okay, "Garden Made of Stones" is in 7, and also has the best riffs just from a bang-your-head point of view. This song reminds me of the Dark Suns album, which is more prog top to bottom. "Flies" is in 5. Much of the rest of this is post-grunge (if that a term) and though solid, not that memorable. "Angels in Vertigo," "Regret," and the bonus track "Time" are a bit better than the other songs. But again, without the track listing in front of me, I would only be able to tell you the name of one song of this album, despite many listens...I really wanted to love this album.

I have always said that if Graves ever really dug into his Tull fetish and incorporated his flute fully into the music with more acoustic tones, he might actually have something I'd really dig. LULLABY has a flute metal instrumental that is my favorite thing on a DST album. On MURDER OF CROWS we get one tease, on "Black Smoke and Mirrors," but it's not enough. Supposedly the new Shadow Theory is more in this vein, and I should be getting that in the next few weeks.

Bottom line, get LULLABY FOR THE DEVIL. And go see Psychotic Waltz live if you can. If you really want to check this one out, just download "Garden" and "Black Smoke." I'd put the album somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, but I'm rounding down because of the better options available.

My interest for Deadsoul Trime arised from the fact, that I know Deon Graves as Buddy Lackey from my favourite progressive metal band Psychotic Waltz. Another fact is that this is still my only Deadsoul Tribe recording, so you can guess, that I am much less impressed by DST than by the quintett from San Diego. However, this album is far from being bad. Devon created some sort of "Jethro Tool", but unfurtunately for me there is more focus on Tool, than Jethro. Devon is still a very good singer and lyricist, and we certainly must give credit for him for playing all instruments on this album, except the drums. Basically, the magical guitar playing of Dan and Brian from Waltz what I miss the most. Devon is competent on the guitar, but his riffs are rather monothonic, and he is just rather unremarkable as a guitar player especially compared to his psychotic ex-collegaues. The music on The January Tree is pleasantly heavy, and melodic but none of the songs is truly outstanding. The better ones for me are Spiders and Flies and Just like a timepiece. The beutiful artwork deserves a special mention. The January Tree is a mostly enjoyable, even if not very rewarding album. I think a 3 star rating is well deserved.

After 2 disappointing albums, Deadsoul Tribe took a year inbetween releases and came back inspired and enthusiastic on their fifth (and probably last) release A Lullaby For The Devil. Instead of playing all instruments but the drums himself, Devon Graves took the entire Deadsoul Tribe live band into the studio. Fleshed out with a real bass and guitar player, the result is a more solid and versatile album, not as unfailing as a Murder Of Crows but surely a lot better then the other DST albums.

Psychosphere is an up-tempo rocker featuring the trademark tribal percussion and plain Sabbath riffing. The arrangement is slightly industrial at times, with whispered vocals providing a slightly menacing angle. The riffs and melodies offer nothing outstanding but the overall effect is ok. Goodbye City Life is a more interesting piece, very different from their usual fare. It's a bit of a hodgepodge of industrial doom metal, mixed with the balladry and folksiness from Jethro Tull and an occasional neurotic Faith No More outburst. As other reviewers have pointed out already, Moustafa has learned to control his frenzied drum attack. Instead of plastering every hole with fills and ruffles, he lets the music breathe more. A big improvement.

Here Come the Pigs is a mediocre song that brings the preceding albums to mind. Lost In You is a lot better, nothing challenging or groundbreaking, but adequately executed Benefit-era Jethro Tull with fine melodies and a passionate delivery. A Stairway To Nowhere is a slow-paced and slightly dreamy atmospheric rock song, not really original but an adept try at Porcupine Tree harmonies and more progressive riffing and chord plucking in the style of Jim Matheos of Fates Warning and OSI fame. Great song. The instrumental Gosamer Strand makes room for Devon's flute playing and some nice bluesy guitar leads.

Deadsoul Tribe is often compared to Tool, the opening bass riff of Any Sign At All supports that claim, but DST's sound is more dynamic and has the better vocals, with much more melodic sense, more power and more feeling. The classic rock ballad Fear sounds a bit out of place but is sure acceptable. Further Down is an up-tempo 3 minute metal track that brings Psychotic Waltz's last album Faded to mind. The closing title track ends this solid album with a strong epic ballad.

Dead Soul Tribe can be reassured. The devil will definitely not fall asleep before this album completes its course through smart modern metal and mid-paced musings. A big improvement over the 2 mediocre albums that preceded.

Third album for Deadsoul Tribe in an equal amount of years. There are few bands with such continuously flowing output. It's a good thing for the fans but slightly frustrating for critical nitpickers like myself. Deadsoul Tribe revolves around the powerful voice of Devon Graves but lacks the creativity and musicality to keep such a huge output interesting.

The album starts interesting enough with Spiders and Flies, heavily in dept to Tool but with far more accomplished vocals, both in expression and in melodic feel. The opening bars of Sirens even bring Psychotic Waltz back, but after 30 seconds, we're back to unremarkable and slowly plodding Sabbath/Tool riffs, the vocal melody saves the song though. With the next couple of songs, The Love of Hate and Why?, the mid-paced monotony of the material creates a weary mood and the lack of character makes the songs dwindle in anonymity. The Coldest Days of Winter is a charming little song, Wings of Faith tries to add an industrial angle but remains flat and dull. Toy Rockets and Waiting for the Answer are two more mediocre and faceless songs. Just Like a Timepiece is a rather ordinary ballad that brings Devon's Jethro Tull influences to the fore. Lady of the Rain ends the album with more balladry

Deadsoul Tribe is basically a one man project and not a real band, Devon Graves is an excellent vocalist but I'm not much impressed with his rudimentary guitar playing and song writing. He is only accompanied by Adel Moustafa, a deserving drummer but he approaches all songs too much in the same way. With hardly 15 minutes of great material and 35 dreary mediocrity 2 stars seem more appropriate then 3 but I'll round up for the nice artwork.

The albums of Dead Soul Tribe have an immediate appeal that makes them instantly likeable. It's the reason why I kept purchasing their albums, only to get really disappointed by their mediocrity after a few listens.

The Dead World offers exactly the same as the 3 previous albums and the creative standstill of the band has become a bit shameful really. Their formula kind of works when Devon Graves puts all his heart in the execution, but most of the tracks here plod along in circles without even trying to catch the listener's attention. Dead Soul Tribe must be one of the most unobtrusive bands to be called metal. A few songs like A Flight on Angels Wing and Don't You Ever Hurt are still acceptable but most of the material is of feeble song writing merit and poor in execution.

After the disappointing debut, somebody must have give Devon Graves the long overdue slap around his drowsy head. In form, A Murder of Crows is almost a clone record, but somehow it accomplishes everything the debut strived for but failed to deliver: straightforward but poignant alt rock with great melodies, power and passion.

The song writing hasn't changed all that much, it's mid-paced alternative metal with strong tribal percussion that sits closer to Tool, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden then resembling anything Psychotic Waltz. Which is fine, the quality of the material is superb and so is the performance. The band sounds vigorous and dynamic. Devon Graves and drummer Adel Moustafa take the spotlight. To pick a few highlights, the opening Feed, A Garden Made of Stone, Angels in Vertigo and Black Smoke and Mirrios are all 5 star material for me. The remainder is very consistent and has no real weak spots. One criticism could be that the approach is very similar throughout the album: soft brooding verses, catchy choruses and a big emotive finale, always with heavy percussion and intense vocals.

This album shows that sometimes it doesn't take more then attention to detail and a clear focus to turn a mediocre band into a stunning experience. With 60 minutes of excellent but somehow samey material, 5 stars would be a bit flattered so I'll stick with 4 stars, even though this album has entertained me abundantly for more then 6 months back in 2003.

After the demise of the great Psychedelic Waltz, the return of Buddy Lacky aka Devon Graves with his own band Dead Soul Tribe was great news. Unfortunately, none of the DST albums could bring back the glories of old.

Dead Soul Tribe continues the more accessible and emotive songwriting of Psychotic Waltz's swan song Faded. The song format is concise and verse-chorus oriented, striving for a sweeping emotional impact but lacking the musical depth and enthusiasm to make any kind of lasting effect. The slightly metalized rock never rises above basic Black Sabbath heavy blues riffing, a trick that works fine for Sabbath themselves but that usually makes for a tedious listen if other bands try it.

My main grudge with the album is that the song material is uneven and uninvolved. Some tracks like The Drowning Machine and You are plain weak and predictable, other songs like Once and The Haunted have an idea or two that could work if somebody had kicked this lethargic band into action but things pretty much remain midpaced metal muzak for their entire course. In fact, only the first two tracks manage to grab my attention, the remainder plods along without much of an impression.

At the time of this writing, news got out that Devon has terminated the Dead Soul Tribe project after 5 very similar releases(*). Some of those albums are pretty good in that category, but this debut is better avoided.

(*) The new project is named "The Shadow Theory" with a lineup consisting of Krisstofer Gildenlow (ex-PAIN OF SALVATION), Mike Terrana (ex-RAGE, TARJA, MASTERPLAN, MALMSTEEN, MCALPINE) and guitarist Arne Schuppner.

It only took one listen to know this was different from their past albums. Devon himself has said that the last three albums were cut from the same cloth and it was time for a change. More flute on this one along with more aggression, heaviness and distortion. Now normally for me that would be a positive change in direction but for whatever reason it doesn't translate that way when I listen to this record. I miss the old sound already. Not that this is even an average recording because it's well above that, there's just too much on here that i'm not a fan of. The cover art design concept was Devon's idea and Travis Smith illustrated it. My least favourite cover art too (haha). The band thanks THRESHOLD and SIEGES EVEN among others.

Love the way this album starts with the bass intro to "Psychosphere". Drum outbursts come and go as the guitar starts to make some noise. Vocals a minute in are distorted with spoken words to follow.There's a nice heavy undercurrent throughout. "Good Bye City Life" opens with spoken words as the sound builds to a heavy doom-like soundscape. It settles right down with piano and reserved vocals 2 minutes in. Kicks back in a minute later and the vocals that follow are getting close to the rap style. Strummed guitar as it lightens 4 minutes in. Flute follows and marching styled drums. It kicks back in late. "Here Come The Pigs" is heavy as drums pound and vocals growl. Some wailing guitar in this one. Vocal samples too. "Lost In You" features more heaviness until we get a calm before 3 1/2 minutes.

"A Stairway To Nowhere" is my favourite. The vocals before 1 1/2 minutes remind me of Steven Wilson. Heavy guitar before 2 minutes comes and goes as vocals continue.This is a very cool song. "The Gossamer Strand" opens with piano and flute. The guitar becomes prominant before 1 1/2 minutes and the tempo picks up after 2 minutes. It settles 5 minutes in. Lots of flute in this one. "Any Sign At All" opens with some deep bass lines and drums.Guitar comes and goes. Reserved vocals come in and they do get passionate. "Fear" opens with strummed guitar as vocals come in. This reminds me of PINK FLOYD. Nice guitar solo 2 minutes in as the sound gets fuller. "Further Down" is heavy with guitar playing over top. Vocals join in. "A Lullaby For The Devil" opens with piano as reserved vocals come in. It kicks in heavily around a minute then settles as contrasts continue.

This is the first DEADSOUL TRIBE album I haven't given 4 stars to. Still there's lots to like here.