A MURDER OF CROWS

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.