" Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left Of Them?" is not only the title of Murder By Death's latest effort on Eyeball Records it is also the question that will lead your journey through their sophomore release. This album depicts a brooding tale of survival in a small western town whose residents are plagued with demonic assaults. They begin to question their own mortality as the Devil wages war on their homeland.
Part horror movie climax, part western barroom brawl and a gloss of wintry distortion, "Who Will Survive..." is a well-delivered follow up to their debut, "Like the Exorcist, But More Breakdancing" (EB021). Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly brought the band to Alex Saavedra's (owner of Eyeball Records) attention after playing together in their hometown of Bloomington, IN. Both Saavedra and Rickly were enamored with the band, then called Little Joe Gould, and signed them immediately.
After a year of tumultuous touring as Little Joe Gould the band decided it was time for a moniker that better represented their foreboding sound. They appropriated Murder By Death from Robert Moore's 1976 murder mystery film by the same name. In their first three years as a band, Murder By Death has toured and shared the stage with such diverse artists as Thursday, Cursive, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Interpol and American Analog Set.
As the days get shorter and an eerie chill begins to whisper through the trees, Murder By Death unveils "Who Will Survive..." set to be released on October 14, 2003. "The album opens with an old fashioned sounding barroom piano piece that narrates the story," explains Murder By Death frontman, Adam Turla. "The Devil has been drinking and preaching the night away at a bar in town until a local shoots him in the back."
Throughout "Who Will Survive..." Alex Schrodt's percussions march you through the dark twists and turns of the town's fate. In the somber dirge of "Three Men Hanging," Matt Armstong's reassuring bass line wraps itself around your supple neck and thrusts you skyward. The album then takes a mischievous turn with "The Desert Is On Fire." Sarah Balliet's deceitfully optimistic cello take flight with Vincent Edwards' piano jaunts while Turla forewarns, "I'll leave a trail of fire across this desert just to see the desperation in your eyes."
The album comes to a close with the desperate finale "End of the Line" illustrating the final hours of our beloved little town. It shows the resilience and fortitude of the human spirit. They will fight until the last breath escapes from their frail lungs; there is still hope for them. The song closes with the war-torn and frantic threat of, "I'll be waiting for him this time. I am stronger now and I can fight it. I'll be waiting at the end of the line." This leaves one question left, who will survive, and what will be left of them?
