01	Psychosphere						03:36
	02	Goodbye City Life						08:27
	03	Here Come the Pigs						04:01
	04	Lost in You						04:55
	05	A Stairway to Nowhere						06:35
	06	The Gossamer Strand						06:21
	07	Any Sign at All						06:17
	08	Fear						04:24
	09	Further Down						02:57
	10	A Lullaby for the Devil						08:45
	11							15:35

Deadsoul Tribe - A Lullaby For The Devil
Deadsoul Tribe - A Lullaby For The Devil
Country of Origin: USA
Format: CD
Record Label: SPV
InsideOut
Catalogue #: SPV 79572
IOMCD 281
Year of Release: 2007
Time: 53:51
Info: Deadsoul Tribe
Samples: Click here

Tracklist: Psychosphere (3:36), Goodbye City Life (8:27), Here Come The Pigs (4:01), Lost In You (4:55), A Stairway To Nowhere (6:35), The Gosamer Strand (6:21), Any Sign At All (6:17), Fear (4:24), Further Down (2:57), A Lullaby For The Devil (6:13) Bonus: Multimedia part
Andy Read's Review

"The last three albums were pretty much cut from the same cloth. Now was the time to begin anew, and redefine Deadsoul Tribe."

So sayeth the Tribe's founder and frontman Devon Graves and in many ways that quote provides a perfect summary of what can be found on the band's fifth album.

As someone who really enjoyed the first two albums from the former Psychotic Waltz musician, I must admit that the last couple of releases were, whilst enjoyable, very much a case of the song remains the same. Therefore, the change of direction on A Lullaby For The Devil is a very welcome move in the right direction. Having said that, depending on your viewpoint, don't get your hopes up/don't be too fearful. What you have on this album is still very much Deadsoul Tribe/Devon Graves. It just comes with a bit more anger and aggression and with a few new influences thrown into the mix, giving everything a fresh and reinvigorated sound.

Nowhere is the new approach clearer than on the opening track Psychosphere. Built on a disturbingly repetitive bass riff, Graves' voice has an aggression rarely heard before, alongside a flurry of confused guitar solos. It's short, sharp and to the point. Here Come The Pigs utilises a similar approach as does Further Down. However Graves has more than one string to his bow. A Stairway To Nowhere features a Peter Gabriel-esque voice, lots of atmosphere and acoustic guitars and a 60s vibe, that when combined, brings to mind latter-day Fates Warning.

The title track mixes piano, programming and a Sabbath riff to solid effect, Fear also has a very 60s/70s feel with a Queen-meets-The Eagles on a blind date with Simon And Garfunkel harmony, alongside a very reflective verse and a Brian May-sounding guitar. Lost In You and Further Down offer close comparisons to the band's recent work and are both very good songs. Two tracks will offer interest for those who enjoy Grave's use of the flute. The Gossamer Strand is actually an instrumental. We open with a piano and flute, that when the guitar is added, sounds rather like Jethro Tull covering Fleetwood Mac's Albatross. Then around two minutes in, it turns on its head to sound like a Jethro Tull-meets-Metallica number.

The album's highlight is Goodbye City Life, which stands as one of the best songs Graves has ever written. As a piece of music this is easily the longest track on the album and is a constantly evolving mini-epic. It's all built around a great melodic hook and riff and combines the band's heavy and light elements brilliantly. I guess this is really where the 'old' and 'new' combine to great effect. Almost worth the admission price alone.

Taking three months to mix the album, has also paid off, with the ten songs really benefiting from a very full and rich sound. Overall, this can be described as a more metallic Deadsoul Tribe. There should be more than enough from the previous albums to please existing fans, whilst Graves has brought in enough new ingredients to hopefully attract some new ones, as well as pleasing those, like me, who were getting a little tired of a rather repetitive diet.

NB: The initial pressings of this album include a bonus multimedia part, with four live acoustic tracks including two Psychotic Waltz songs. They're not included in my promo package, so I can't really add anything further.
Jeffrey Terwilliger's Review

I became aware of Deadsoul Tribe after hearing Devon Graves on Ayreon's The Human Equation. With several releases under their belt, this time out is said to be a departure of sorts. But as this is my only exposure to the band thus far I will leave any comparisons to prior work to Andy.

The CD starts out with a very Vanden Plas-like riff to open Psychoshpere. However it soon becomes apparent that Deadsoul Tribe is emphatically NOT another Dream Theater Jr. There are a lot of dynamic shifts in tempo and volume, as expected with any band that calls itself 'progressive'. Additionally Graves' vocals run the gamut from lilting balladeer to whispers to power metal clean through to death grunts. Along with the layered guitars and double-kick drumming, the comparison to Opeth is unavoidable because of these and it is also probably the best touchstone if you need to ask what this sounds like. Graves plays a very soulful flute too. In fact this is the most effective fusion of flute with power metal I've heard since Jethro Tull. (Although the 'Tribe doesn't sound at all like Tull, the trills in The Gossamer Strand still remind me of Cross Eyed Mary.) Also noteworthy is the fact that Graves plays all the parts except the drums - the other two players are credited as touring members. And his bass sounds damn good I might add.

Each song on this CD is a unique and interesting composition, showing a breadth of styles and depth of lyricism that is not as common in the genre as I would like. I already mentioned Vanden Plas and Opeth, and as track 5 opens Peter Gabriel comes to mind. A little touch of Gordian Knot in track 7. These and other comparisons are what I would call faint references, since Graves most definitely has his own thing going on.

Technically this is a nice work, except for a few unnatural-sounding vocal punches in the opening of Goodbye City Life. At 54 minutes it could have been longer; some reviewers like shorter CDs because they get tired of the material. OK I agree with that if the material is tiresome, but there are real gems out there - Bridge Across Forever and Scenes From A Memory and ? for example - that set the standard for long CDs that don't drag. This one might be a drag if it was 80 minutes long because the material is pretty heavy.

Conclusions:

ANDY READ : 8 out of 10
JEFFREY TERWILLIGER : 7 out of 10