The Pioneer Times

Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Google Images

Murder by Death is a very distinct band that appears a lot older than they actually are. Their history dates back to the turn of the century when the band, all students at Indiana University, met and decided to make music. They got their name from an old Neil Simon play entitled Murder by Death. At the time of their inception, the band was a five-piece consisting of common rock instruments such as guitar, bass and drums but also having a female cellist and a keyboardist. Despite having dropped out of school to become full-time musicians, band members, such as ,guitarist/vocalist Adam Turla, write songs that recall their studies.

They released their first full length LP in 2002, Like the Exorcist, but More Breakdancing, on the New Jersey independent record label, Eyeball Records. The album was focused more on the dark instrumentals than the art of Turla's lyrics. In 2003, they followed up with what is their most critically lauded album, Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them? This album told the story of a small Mexican town and their fight against the Devil. There's also a song about zombies and it opens with the Devil drinking in a bar and getting shot in the back. It was after this album that the keyboardist left to return to school. This altered their sound as now the cellist had to take over on keyboards and thus split her time on cello and keyboards. The band's third album, In Bocca al Lupo, drew inspiration from Dante's Inferno and instead of telling one story like their previous effort, it told separate stories focused around similar themes based upon the different sins and levels of Hell.

The band's new album, which hits stores on March 4, is entitled "The Red of Tooth and Claw" and represents their debut on another independent label, Vagrant Records. The album is yet another step of their consistent evolution but they are showing signs of sameness with this record. They are one album away from something I call the "Millencolin Effect" (named after Swedish punk band, Millencolin). The "Millencolin Effect" occurs after a band releases three albums that sound almost exactly the same. That is the point when I stop caring because I don't like hearing the same stuff over and over again. Currently, bands like Flogging Molly (whose new album came out on March 4) and the RX Bandits sit on this threshold.

Going back to the band on hand, Murder's new album sounds very similar to their previous effort, In Bocca, but it does have its differences. For one, Turla seems to be embracing the fact that he sounds like a modern day Johnny Cash. I'm pretty sure if I threw some of the songs (namely opening track "Coming Home") in a Johnny Cash mix CD, many people would not be the wiser. However, the album contains a lot of what I love about the band: great lyrics and dark cello riffs. There appears to be an overarching theme on the album about fire and revenge and it is very noticeable in such tracks as the single, "Fuego!" and "Ash.". Interestingly enough, I would say those two songs are the highlights of the album. Other solid tracks include "Steal Away," "Rum Brave" and "'52 Ford."

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