The Summary Judgment Review:
Title: A Murder of Crows
Artist: Dead Soul Tribe
Label: Inside Out Music America
Release Date: 7/29/03

Rating: 4 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Zilla (4/23/04):
    Psychotic Waltz was a sick, progressive metal band that disbanded in 1997. It's a shame too because the music that Psychotic Waltz formulated was awesome . . . sick in a very good way. Complex, intricate, whacko progressive metal with that groove that can touch your soul.

    In 2002, a new band emerged in Dead Soul Tribe that displayed a very similar groove. Not nearly as heavy, but there was this familiarity that couldn't be ignored. After a few listens, I swore that Buddy Lackey, singer/poet extraordinaire, had surfaced again. Yet, that name was nowhere on the release. The name was Devon Graves, leaving me wondering even more. Thankfully a friend on the Internet filled me in . . . Devon and Buddy were one and the same.

    Like the first self-titled Dead Soul Tribe, A Murder of Crows is chock full of groove, but heavier. The two-part opener "Feed" probably showcases the polarities that are the Tribe's best. Part I "Stone by Stone" has tight riffing which rises and falls like waves. Devon displays many styles as well, conveying moods from pleading to sinister. Comparisons can be made to Tool, but then comes Part II "The Awakening," with Jethro Tull-esque flutes and "Aqualung"-like vocal effects . . . slower, building with Devon's screams of anguish in the background over an extended guitar solo.

    The thing that really stands out for me, other than the groove, is that there is just this ebb and flow feel to the Tribe's music. It was evident on the first CD and extends itself here. You're grooving along, then laid back, then grooving . . . I love when discs grab you like this. The darker, poetic atmosphere fits just so, like a puzzle piece into Devon's ebb and flow. The use of movie clips is here again too, and fit just so, never seeming out-of-place or unnecessary.

    There is nothing like listening to an album groove; nothing at all. Both CD's from Dead Soul Tribe have an abundance to share and should be in everyone's collection as far as I'm concerned. The only reason I'm not laying out the 5 on this one is because I know there's still more to come.
    4 out of 5

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