Classic Rock Start Page Album Review
DEADSOUL TRIBE - The January Tree
1. Spiders And Flies 6:01
2. Sirens 4:28
3. The Love Of Hate 3:44
4. Why? 6:42
5. The Coldest Days Of Winter 3:32
6. Wings Of Faith 4:38
7. Toy Rockets 5:32
8. Waiting For The Answer 5:32
9. Just Like A Timepiece 7:18
10. Lady Of Rain 3:35
© 2004 InsideOut Music
DEADSOUL TRIBE e-mail: info@deadsoultribe.com
DEADSOUL TRIBE website: www.deadsoultribe.com
What to say about this album? Really not my kind of music, but there's something that intriges me. The music has something in it, that makes me listen in a state of sadness. The wintertree on the cover helps me with that feeling. A lot of drumpatterns combined with heavy-metal bass- and guitarwork, sauced with a really well fitting voice!
So now and then a real surprise: a German flute in "Toy Rockets", "Just Like A Timepiece", composer, singer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, flutist and producer Devon Graves just dares to bring in this instrument. Wasn't it used by Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull in the 70's? Not surprisingly that one of his influences is Jethro Tull!! Also Frank Zappa is part of that and that too is no surprise, although Zappa had more musicians to bring his musical ideas to life! At the end a highlight in folkform, "Lady Of Rain" ends the album majestic.
Summary:
if you like a monotonous heavy-metal guitarwork, combined with an exclusive kind of singing this album is the one. I'm sorry, no offense, but this is not my kind of music. My compliments for the multi-instrumentalist Graves, who must be satisfied with this production, as he says, and I quote: "With ‘The January Tree‘, I had finally found the self-confidence to create almost an hour of homogeneous music without any quality differences."
So be it!
Review by: Clemens Steenweg, October 2004