Deadsoul Tribe
A Lullaby For The Devil

"A Lullaby For The Devil," the fifth chapter in the discography of Deadsoul Tribe by Devon "boccia" Graves, was released in September 2007. First of all, I feel the need to point out the album cover, which I find very beautiful in its simplicity.

Here is the track-list:

1. Psychosphere

2. Goodbye City Life

3. Here Come the Pigs

4. Lost in You

5. A Stairway to Nowhere

6. The Gossamer Strand

7. Any Sign at All

8. Fear

9. Further Down

10. A Lullaby for the Devil

Total duration: 53 minutes.

Although the first track of the album, "Psychosphere" might lead the listener to have a mistaken impression of what this album will actually be like later, it keeps us awake and alert with its fast rhythms and almost growl-like vocals (perhaps the thing that bothered me the most is precisely this—the presence in some parts of a too dirty voice).

After the opener, we dive into the heart of the album: slow rhythms and calm melodies quickly shift into fast and aggressive passages, so much so that in some parts the change is so sudden it takes your breath away. In a few seconds, everything transforms, but in every track, everything is incredibly coherent, and even when the transverse flute appears for the first time, in the second track, "Goodbye City Life", there's a connection to the hardest pieces the album has to offer us.

And indeed the album really has a lot to offer us listeners, reaching truly high standards in some tracks; examples are "The Gossamer Strand" and the melancholic "Lost in You" The first is dominated by the flute, accompanied at times by the keyboard, at others by the guitar, and still at others by the sole drums, with which it delivers a performance reminiscent of Jethro Tull.
"Lost in You", on the other hand, maintains a very melodic tone in the verse, only to unleash anger and power in the chorus, giving vent to the despair and resignation that seem to permeate the song.

Also worth mentioning are "Any Sign at All", which accentuates the tribal character of the work, and the closing title track, which might be the most representative example of the turmoil that characterizes the album and transmits to the listener: between moments of worry, resignation, anger, there are moments of tranquility. But it seems that tranquility is only an illusion, quickly shattered by the return of tormented atmospheres.

Devon's performances are excellent, both vocally and instrumentally; except for the drums, in fact, all the instrumentation in the studio was recorded by Graves. Behind the drums sits one Adel Moustafa whose performance pleasantly surprised me.

Ultimately, we are faced with an excellent album, very original and engaging, which does not get lost in unnecessary technicalities but instead goes straight to the point, offering us on a silver platter a true "hodgepodge" of sensations that we rarely find so well mixed together.

RATING: 8.5