Adel Moustafa (with Austrian and Egyptian parents, hence his name) plays drums in Dead Soul Tribe since the beginning in 1997.



Devon Graves was known as Buddy Lackey, singer of the American Progressive group Psychotic Waltz. In 1997, after 11 years and four albums with that band, he set out to write and produce his own albums so he could "better express" his musical vision. He moved to Vienna and started Dead Soul Tribe. The only other thing this multi-instrumentalist and singer needed was a great drummer: "In rock music, I think a band is only as good as its drummer." Devon was introduced to a 19 year old named Adel Moustafa along with a glowing recommendation from a friend. Graves recalls:

"At the time, Adel hadn't played drums for nearly a year. In fact he didn't even have his own drum set. We went into a little "equipped" rehearsal room. He sat down behind a small drum kit. I told Karl (a bass player I was working with at the time) to just play anything in the key of E. Ready? One, two, three, four. BAM! The room just exploded! This kid just tore it up! We were all just playing off the top of our heads for about three minutes, then I stopped and asked Adel, "Do you want to be in a really good band?"

Adel Moustafa sounds inspired by Tool-drummer Danny Carey: the same ability to do more with less, the same transcending heavy grooves and extremely well timed hits. Frontman and bandleader Graves stresses the importance of a good drummer:

"Adel is a great looking guy. Amazing to watch when he is playing. To me, a rock bands visual presence can be as important as its sound. This was a considerable component on which I wanted to build this band. I’m not talking about `pretty boys`, I’m talking about people who have a strong presence on stage, or just standing together. Some bands can affect you just by the sight of them. When their look is as intense as their sound, The whole thing hits so much harder."