I'll be honest right off the bat. The first mention I heard of Murder by Death was when they were making their name change from Little Joe Gould. I had yet to hear any music that the band plays, and my initial reaction was that based on namesake it was going to be another one of those emo-metalcore acts that have swollen the underground market in the past few years. Luckily for Murder by Death, they surprised me with a sound that perked me out of my lethargic mood. With Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them?, the bands second full-length, I became consumed with a story of the wickedness of Beelzebub.
Murder by Death's latest release opens with "Devil in Mexico," which narrates the Devil's visit to a small unidentified town. The Devil enters a bar and continues to get quite intoxicated and preach his mind to all that are in attendance. Eventually, one local has enough and ends up shooting the Devil. Unfortunately, the Devil doesn't die and Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them? unfolds the aftermath. As "Killbot 2000" continues the story with a plague of zombies, musically the album ventures towards an indie rock sound similar to Cursive, but is further accentuated by the distinctive use of keyboards as well as the violin and cello. With this added instrumentation, one might expect things to become cluttered, but instead the pieces are very well organized. As the story continues to unfold, the somber mood and desperation of "Three Men Hanging" is evoked perfectly by vocalist Adam Turla and cellist Sarah Balliet, lifting you from your current location directly into the downtrodden town. Following the "Intermission" the despair begins to fade, and the rising optimism of the townsfolk is revealed through Alex Schrodt's upbeat drumming, especially evident on "A Masters in Reverse Psychology." The storyline continues towards its climax in "Desert is on Fire," which makes use of well-placed pianos of Vincent Edwards. The album concludes with the beautifully written compositions "Pillars of Salt," which reminds me a great deal of Mogwai, and "End of the Line," in which the townsfolk finally decide to confront the Devil. But, Murder by Death keeps us guessing and leaves us with an open-ending, what transpires in those final moments is left to the listener to decide.
So that wasn't technically an album review, it would've acted better as a book report. But with a storyline that intriguing, the album concept actually makes the music more interesting at times. This isn't to say the album lacks musical appeal, the talent is very proficient and the music is rather appealing. Those of you that enjoyed Cursive's The Ugly Organ or even Fugazi's The Argument will be greatly interested with Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them?, if you haven't already heard it that is.
