| CD REVIEW The Crystal Caravan |
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Band : The Shadow Theory Remember Deadsoul Tribe, the band erected by Devon Graves, formerly known as Buddy Lackey of the slightly genial Psychotic Waltz? The band he left in 1997 because he was “holding the rest back”? Well, that same Austrian gentleman has now put a hold on DsT, because this time he found the befriended musicians in that band were generally lacking progress (except for the drummer), and holding hím back. Still, the experience with DsT has seen Graves meet some of the finest musicians he ever came across, and it must've been around 2005 when the nucleus of the question, “What would it be like to have a band with only the best of players?” formed in his head. This question first came to fruition some 4 years ago when he saw a relatively unknown rhythm guitarist by the name of Arne Schuppner from this German ProgThrash act Complex 7, which served as local support for Deadsoul Tribe. His playing shook Devon as being massive, fierce and original, and his performance was exceptionally heartfelt (something missing in many Progressive musicians). After the tour Devon gave Arne a call, and the two started talking about making music. The question of the bassist was resolved later in that same year, as Graves was lucky enough to record and produce the band DIAL, formed by former Pain Of Salvation bassist Krisstofer Gildenlöw and his wife Liselotte. On top, Devon was impressed by Kkris' aptitude on the piano and acoustic guitar. When DsT were supporting Threshold on a tour, devon couldn't help but be impressed by the great skills of Jonanne James on his drums, and so after the tour he asked him to join in on the project...which he initially declined, due to being too busy at the time. In stead, Devon turned to Mike Terrana...but eventually some time elapsed between the initial offer and today's reality, and when Devon asked James again, he accepted. The keyboardist...the question Devon asked himself whether he really wanted a keyboardist...but fate would answer that question. You see, about 3 years ago a Greek keyboardist by the name of Demi Scott (anglicized, of course), a fan of Devon from his Psychotic Waltz days on, contacted the latter with a request for advice. He'd been a professional musician for some time, but had gotten so fed up with the business aspect of the whole thing that he was about to quit. Devon sent him a short not asking the guy to send him some music, which arrived a couple of days later in the form of a neatly burned cd-R. Only 10 or 15 minutes into the disc he sent Demi an e-mail telling him he should drop everything, travel to Vienna (Devon's hometown, don't you know!), and be part of the new band he was starting! For The Shadow Theory, Devon took a step back from his modus operandi with DsT, leaving the composition of the songs' music up to Arne and Demi. At some point in the beginning of their collaboration however, Devon had to pull the chord on the guys' composing of all to complexly filled tracks, pointing out that there was no room left for vocals. Both fans of Devon's previous work, it's not surprising that what came out is something in between Psychotic Waltz and The Shadow Theory for the most time. But not àll of the time, because there's also plenty moments where a strong Symphonic touch is given to a song. Of course, there's always Devon's signature vocals, and his occasional use of the flute. The songs relate the somewhat frightening conceptual story about a man waking from one nightmare into the next, not knowing whether he's actually waking to harsh reality, or has actually been dreaming! The listener doesn't quite get the drift of the story at first though, and it's only after one's listened to the album a couple of times in a row that one ties everything together, also as far as the music goes. Because overall the album is somewhat hard to digest at first (or even second) listen, and one really needs to get acquainted with the album as a whole to get into the directional changes. In an interview with some Greek journalist (done during the Dead Word Tour), Devon mentioned half-jokingly, that The Shadow Theory's musical direction would be one crossing King Diamond with King Crimson. In a later interview (with the same journalist) he rephrased it as “King Diamond meets Bad Brains and invites Buddy Lackey from Psychotic Waltz to sing...it's deeper than that, and our music goes out much further than tat description, but it is fun to say”! At the moment, the band is still building their own website, but at myspace.com/theshadowtheoryofficial you can at least already listen to the song “The Sound Of Flies” (as it so happens, that is nót a song with flute in it). For samples of the other songs, check out the album's page at one of the trusted online sales websites! 98/100 Tony. |
