Effin Great
You might know Devon Graves from the Alt-Metal band Deadsoul Tribe - or you might be more familiar with his real name, Buddy Lackey. He spent 11 years working as front man, singer-flute player for one of the original Prog-Metal bands, Psychotic Waltz.
After leaving Psychotic Waltz in 1997 he began to compose in solitude. The music he created and subsequent record release from InsideOut spawned the need for a live band, which he formed with local friends who had the right hair. They began to tour and support the albums of Deadsoul Tribe which he continued to compose and record alone.
Throughout the journeys of touring Devon met many musicians who really stood above the crowd. One day he began to wonder: "What would it be like to play in a band made of the very finest players I have met along the way?" This question first came to Devon's mind when Deadsoul Tribe was supported by a local German prog-thrash metal band Complex 7. Arne Schuppner was their guitarist. His playing really shook Devon. Arne had it all, and would be receiving a phone call from Devon.
Later in that year, Devon had the unique pleasure of recording and producing the band Dial,recently formed by Kris Gildenlöw and his missus, Liselotte right after his leaving his long stand with Pain of Salvation. During the recordings, Devon was impressed over and over again with Kris'bass playing, and especially his precision with a fretless bass. Devon was equally impressed with Kris' ability to play piano and acoustic guitar, and with his composition skills in general. Also a fine vocalist indeed, seeing him as the perfect choice tempted Devon to extend an offer to Kris to join Devon's new band. He also accepted.
The final question had haunted Devon during all this time. Does he want a keyboard player, or not? This question answered itself in a great email from a "fan of Deadsoul Tribe, and especially Psychotic Waltz "I was so blown away by what I heard, I could not just sit there a second longer. I immediately sent him an email which read: 'I have listened to your music and so here is my advice. You should come to Vienna and we should make a band together!'"
So, "Behind the Black Veil" is a sinister roller-coaster ride of sound and lyrical imagery combining elements of Thrash, Psychedelic and Symphonic Metal fused with Folk and Prog-Rock undertones. Devon's first "concept album" ever, tells a horror story of a man who wakes from one nightmare into another, into another until he can no longer tell where the dream ends and reality begins...
I'm sad to say that I didn't know a great deal of Deadsoul Tribe or Psychotic Waltz, only of Devons work with Arjen Lucassen's Ayreon and was blown away by his voice at the time. As I have had this album for a couple of weeks I have managed to hear a fair amount of the old two bands via good 'ol Spotify, and I can tell you that TST are the bastard offspring of DT and PW, only better!
Was it worth pulling your tripe out for four years....? Abso-fuckin-lutely. It has power, passion, raw emotion, even quite haunting in parts. It varies from being quite technical and worthy of Dream Theater proportions, and delves back to the folky Jethro Tull style from the early days of classic Prog.
Devon gets his flute out (no pun intended – that would be some blow job) on the excellent opener 'I Open Up My Eyes' a bombastic track with riffs made to trash your living room, alongside the folky chorus. Both light and dark by contrast throughout the album – it works an absolute treat. Sounding one minute like Tony Harnell on the quieter moments of 'The Sound Of Flies' to this beastly vocal. Combine this with the gutteral guitar style of Schuppner. The closest that TST get to being thrash-like is 'Ghostride'. The album is a bit overblown and pompous in parts, but I say that in a great way. Too few bands let loose and really go for it. With most it can be a bit 'music by numbers' but Devon and his crew have a style they can call their own – with keyboards thrown in for good measure. The acoustic-orchestral driven 'Selebrate' definitely has Pain Of Salvation leanings and is one of my favourite tracks on the album.
All in all, TST have an album they can be extremely proud of, light and shade, heavy and haunting, its a testament to Graves' belief in bring his best musicians together to collaborate on a project like this. Hopefully it will be a full time project with plans to tour (make sure the UK is on your list).
I believe that Graves hasn't had much success with previous bands, but deserves it in abundance with TST. This bloke can sing his arse off.