THE DEAD WORD

This is my second album from Deadsoul Tribe - it's like a retrospective because I now their newest album "A Lullaby for The Devil" (2007) first before this one. This album is not as unique as the newest one but I still joy in enjoying this album especially in its ambient heavy riffs and the Tool like music. Lyric is still one of the key attractions to this album. You can find inspiring lyric in "A Flight on an Angel's Wing".

Deadsoul Tribe was founded in 2000 by Devon Graves, former member of Psychotic Waltz. A year later the debut album Deadsoul Tribe was released and proved to be a success with former Psychotic Waltz fans and beyond. Graves is the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music is both philosophical and challenging. Everything I write has a message, an approach to poetry, he says. It's the major function of poetry not to provide answers, but to raise questions - to be thought provoking and to create space for individual interpretations. Together with drummer Adel Moustafa, who also plays the drums on the records, the guitarist Roland `Rollz` Kerschbaumer and bass player Roland Ivenz, Deadsoul Tribe is known for their stirring stage performance. [official DsT site]. Devon made an original concept for Deadsoul Tribe in 1999 and he acted as Songwriter, Producer, Lead Guitar, Lead Vocalist, Overlord. His favorites range from Jethro Tull to Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Hendrix and Zappa.

Music that's full of joys .

This album in general sounds like a Tool album. The opening track "Prelude: Time and Pressure"(1:40) creates an excellent ambient that sets the tone for the whole album with a kind like Pink Floyd style. Adel Moustafa enters his percussion and drumming work that creates tribal nuances like the music from South Africa. This remarks the entrance to "A Flight on an Angel's Wing" (4:31) which flows nicely with excellent melody and great riffs and percussion. Devon sings powerfully. "To My Beloved. "(5:56) starts nicely with walking basslines combined with howling guitar and rhythmic percussion accompanying low register notes vocal line. Bass guitar and percussion sound like the main rhythm section of the music with practically minimum riffs at the opening. The riffs only come when Devon sings high register notes in the middle of the track.

"Don't You Ever Hurt?" (4:56) brings the music into faster tempo with Floydian guitar solo and heavy riffs. I like the music that changes into different style at approx minute 3 where guitar riffs have changed into more stimulating sound followed by a break with Floydian guitar style. "Some Sane Advice" (3:57) starts nice with acoustic guitar which accompanies vocal. It reminds me to the kind of soft music of Opeth. "Let the Hammer Fall" (4:03) starts off with heavy guitar riffs followed by dynamic drumming. Well, I really love the guitar riffs. "Waiting in Line" (6:34) opens with guitar riffs followed with a heavy music and later on with a break where Devon plays his flute beautifully (hemmm .. finally he plays the flute! Something I have been waiting for from first track).

"Someday" (1:34) is a short but catchy track with piano and vocal line. It then flows to great percussion-based music that remarks the start of "My Dying Wish" (4:01). Musically, this is the most NOT metal song from this album with powerful yet simple lyrics. On the day I die / Don't pray for me / Soulstealer. In the place I lye / Set me free / Soulstealer. "A Fistful of Bended Nails" (5:25) brings the music back into normal style with bass guitar makes an opening mark followed by ambient percussion / drums work. Again, bass guitar and percussion seem like being the main rhythm section of the music. The concluding track "The Long Ride Home" (4:20) is another excellent track with heavy musical riffs. I like the bass guitar solo augmented by drums in the middle of the track and then followed wonderfully by flute work. Oh man .. this is FABULOUS!!!! Two thumbs up for the composition!

Overall, even though this album is less challenging than the last album "A Lullaby for The Devil" I still find that the composition is tight and it's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)

The Empty Word

Deadsoul Tribe's 4th studio album picks up from where January Tree left off: Clearly a post metal sound, pretty similar to their previous 2 albums and quite different from their debut. The main element of the album is again Devon Graves' characteristic vocals, a feature that will always be the crucial factor in the bands' present and future releases. Yet again, the vocal performance on this album is unique and interesting. In addition, the variation of sounds and tempos pretty much exists, as it did on previous works.

Regarding the music, the similarities with Psychotic Waltz's latter albums - mainly in the vocal melodies and not so much in the structure - are inevitable. However, the overall music approach of the band has moved as the years went by, towards a more post/alternative sound, which is still heavy, evident in tracks like Don't you Ever Hurt and The Long Ride Home. The main obvious influence in the music and structure is Tool, where the riffs borrow several ideas from albums like Aenema and Lateralus. Let the Hammer Fall is another example of the effect that M. J. Keenan's band had on this record, which also combines elements from P. Waltz's Mosquito. Apart from the main characteristics in their music, DT have incorporated Queensryche harmonies, 70's melodies (Some Sane Advice) and an alternative metal approach in the vein of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains (To My Beloved). Dead Word mainly balances between mid and slow tempos, even when heavier tunes are introduced, while the clever use of piano and flute at selected moments is one of the positive aspects.

Despite the potential that all the above referred features bear, the ultimate result is an empty product. The ideas are well structured and executed, but the musicianship is not at the expected high levels. There are only a few really ground-shaking moments. While the album flows quite smoothly, I found myself getting bored after a few spins. I get the feeling that the songs are longer than they should have been, mainly because the ideas are not innovative enough and get repetitive or predictable. The few moments that I picked out are A Flight on an Angel's Wings, My Dying Wish and A Fistful of Bended Nails. As mentioned above, some excellent ideas are apparent but are subsequently 'lost' within the mediocrity of the compositions.

Although not a bad album, Dead Word is possibly DT's weakest release. It is representative of the band's sound but not of its real capabilities.

What I like about the DEADSOUL TRIBE is that with each new album you know what your going to get. It's going to be dark, atmospheric and at times heavy. Gatot is right when he descibes the music here as TOOL- like, it just never gets that crushingly heavy like they do. In the liner notes the band thanks among others RAGE, THRESHOLD, SIEGES EVEN, Heather Findlay and Eric Clayton from SAVIOUR MACHINE.

"Prelude : Time And Pressure" opens with the sound of a clock ticking before someone starts quoting scripture followed by a preacher and other vocal samples. "A Flight On An Angel's Wing" opens with heavy TOOL-like drumming and bass before vocals join in before a minute. The tempo shifts a few times before it ends with some power. "To My Beloved..." is dark and atmospheric as reserved vocals come in. Great sound when it kicks in at 1 1/2 minutes.The contrast continues. "Don't You Ever Hurt ?" is where they "rock out" pretty good. Some excellent guitar before 4 minutes as well. "Some Sane Advice" is beautiful early with vocals and acoustic guitar. A fuller sound before 1 1/2 minutes.The contrast continues.

"Let The Hammer Fall" has this nice heavy sound and check out the guitar / drum melody 2 1/2 minutes in ! "Waiting In Line" builds quickly then a great rhythm comes in. Flute follows as it settles down and vocals join in too. Lots of riffs coming and going. "Someday" is a short ballad of piano and reserved vocals. "My Dying Wish" has some electronica in it and a good beat. Guitar comes in after 2 minutes. Great song ! "A Fistful Of Bended Nails" opens with violin as bass then drums follow. It settles when the vocals arrive. Kicks back in and I really like the guitar 5 minutes in. "The Long Ride Home" is a powerful tune. Aggressive guitar after 2 minutes then it settles as flute and bass take over. Some good atmosphere here as well. Kicks back in after 3 minutes and we get a fantastic finale.

Another winner from Devon and the boys. I actually prefer their first three albums to this one, but it's still a great listen and worthy of 4 stars.

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.