A murder of crows takes the listener on a dark journey through the strange mind of Devon Graves. It is the second album from
Dead Soul Tribe and both continues and evolves the style from the debut. Compared to the debut this effort overall has a more complete feeling. The music is still what you can call Progressive Metal, but it has been a long time since I've heard something as bleak and consistently depressive as this. This is not something you should bring to the party next door. No, this is something to listen to when you sit in the dark and reflect on what's going on in this world and your own life. It might inspire you to do something about it or it might just make you extremely depressive. I hope it's the first :)
This is clearly Devon Graves' child. He has written all the music and lyrics and he plays almost every instrument; Bass, guitars, keys, flutes and vocals are all handled by him. Only the drums are expertly handled by Adel Moustafa. The drums is in fact the glue that brings all the various elements of the music together and keeps it tight and interesting by adding that little extra detail to the sound.
Being the former singer of
Psychotic Waltz, some elements of that band can also be found here. The flute is a welcome addition in several songs, especially in
Black smoke and mirrors where it plays a major role. Another example of something that brings back memories is the guitar sound in
Feed Part II: The Awakening, which has a great "Into the Everflow" sound to it.
Overall the music is slow and heavy with a very dark atmosphere. Devon's passionate and haunting voice is oozing with despair and loneliness, and he delivers a brilliant vocal performance one song after another. Very intense. I must say that it took me a long time to get comfortable with the album. I found it slowly growing on me and slowly getting under my skin. Now it is something I can lie back and enjoy with closed eyes when I'm in that mood.
The twelve songs all add their own ingredient to the album and none of them are bad. Only
Crows of the wire has a riff that grinds round and round in the same groove. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I find this song becomes a little tedious after a while. The vocal passages and drum work still save the song though.
I think that the best way to discover this very special album is by yourself. Therefore I won't go into too much detail with the songs. I'll just linger on a few of many highlights.
The first two songs together form
Feed, which is a really fantastic opener to the album. With some very thought provoking lyrics and excellent music this is the first standout track(s). Lyrically, the first part deals with our mistreatment of the earth and the second takes on the human aspect of this corruption. I guess the message of the song is; Why do we always search for more, even when we already have everything?
The messenger is another standout track. The part when Devon begins singing is very powerful. Also take notice of the captivating drum and bass work.
One extremely atmospheric song is
Some things you can't return, where a slow and driving rythm builds up the song while Devon's silky voice increases in intensity. The song is truly haunting.
In a garden made of stones has a very doomy
Black Sabbath guitar riff which underlines the mood in this very melodic song.
Angels in vertigo is another brilliant song with a strong
Psychotic Waltz connection. In
Regret the keys play a special role and almost brings back memories of the classic
Another prophet song and
I'm not waving is worth its place on the album for its brilliant vocal melodies alone.
The production is raw and dry, but I still find the sound soothing in some strange way. The booklet and artwork fit perfectly with the bleak concept.
The charming thing about A murder of crows is that it opens up just a little with each listen. After more than 20 listens I still feel in no way like I have heard it all yet.
So, to cut the story short, this is highly recommended for those who like something special that doesn't come along every day. A must for all fans of gloomy, melancholic music.
Written by
Steen Wednesday, September 3, 2003
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