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: : A Murder of Crows : :
I don’t know if Dream Theater, Savatage, or Fates Warning will be
releasing a new album this year, but if they don’t, here is something that will tie
us over until they do. Dead Soul Tribe offers perfect dark conceptual progressive
metal done with a less cinematic scope to keep the whole song structure in tact
rather than creating too much of a symphonic overload to the production quality.
Although “A Murder of Crows” is not as “progressive” as many of the progressive
metal bands, it is more in-your-face production wise. Mainly it is the complex
rhythmic structure of Moustafa’s drumming and the chord structure of the cuts on
this record that keep Dead Soul Tribe in their own technical place.
“A Murder of Crows” idealizes the souls of the deceased being carried out by crows,
a dark literary concept setting the whole tone for this record. Opening up with
“Stone by Stone,” a dark and driving heavy metal song, in a cross between
late-period Savatage and early Queensryche, keeping the rhythmic complexity tame.
The abrupt end to this cut leads to “The Awakening,” which sounds just like a Jethro
Tull cut (so close it is scary) with the flute interlude, acoustic guitar, and
“Aqualung” vocal treatments; eventually leading back to the dark metal sound. For
the most part the record keeps sort of a mid-tempo structure to the songwriting,
many cuts are laid back, using keyboards very sparingly, keeping an emphasis on the
guitar riffs rather than constant improvisations, whereas, the guitar sound is the
focus of the bands overall record, as well as putting the songwriting (both
lyrically and musically) as first things first.
Among the darker cuts on the record is “In a
Garden Made of Stones,” which borrows a lot from Sabbath’s first record, riff wise,
proving that their sound has influence on these guys. “Regret” reminds me of
Savatage’s “Edge of Thorns” with the addition of the piano, while “Crows On the
Wire” is more along the lines of some of the dark material of Yngwie Malmsteen’s
“Facing the Animal” record (minus the guitar aficionado, of course). The only cuts
on the record that might constitute being a ballads are “Black smoke on Mirrors” and
“Time,” both ending this album on dark note.
Yes, this record has dark quality to it, not in a depressing way, but in a way that
Fates Warning did on “A Pleasant Shade of Grey,” or Black Sabbath’s “Headless Cross”
(and I don’t think these guys are trying to impress a bunch of suicidal Goth kids).
For those who have been longing for a dark metal album that takes a distant step
away from all of the operatic connotations, keeping more of a song and melody
priority in focus, this is defiantly your record.
Rating: 8.50 Stars
Tommy Hash
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Dead Soul
Tribe 2002
A Murder of Crows 2003
Both titles released on Inside Out
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Record Label : :
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