Animals as Leaders by Animals as Leaders
LABEL: Prosthetic Records

Somewhere in the already blurry realm between metal, jazz, industrial and new wave, Washington DC guitarist Tosin Abasi released Animals as Leaders, a musical oddity that seems about as self-indulgent and distanced on the first listen as it seems instantly accessible and enjoyable on the second. It may seem quite easy to throw this album on to the heap of math-metal attempts that have cluttered the thinking-man's-instrumental trend the past few years, but there's something special here that stands it far apart.

Between the smattering of shifting rhythms and fluttering guitar lines throughout the album, there's a careful attention to song-crafting and truly attractive melodies that wash over you like some celestial ocean. Hardcore metal fans will have a difficult time finding a foothold in Abasi's release, but anyone who ever dreamed of melding Devin Townsend's Ocean Machine with the style of King Crimson might have stumbled upon something remarkably close with Animals as Leaders. While the technique and prowess displayed by Abasi is impressive, what's truly remarkable is that he very rarely lets his skill overwhelm each composition.

“The lack of vocals, heavy use of electronics, dramatic structures, and a strong sense of continuity all give the album a soundtrack quality that's ridiculously attractive and engaging.”

Programmed drums and synthesizer washes weave in and through clean guitar work, and it may be refreshing to many that the highest points of energy to most of the songs don't rely upon distortion to achieve their power. The lack of vocals, heavy use of electronics, dramatic structures, and a strong sense of continuity all give the album a soundtrack quality that's ridiculously attractive and engaging.

The one weak point of the record is its production. Whether the fault lies in the mixing room or at the mastering phase, the album is just way too over-compressed for its own good, as if it's really trying to hammer in the metal aesthetic to compensate for the heavier progressive elements. After a while you feel like the guts of the record have been torn out, leaving a somewhat emaciated attempt at sonic assault.

This little artifact of identity crisis deserves to be overlooked, however, as the album has so much else to offer. Though a little difficult to penetrate for fans of the heavier side of the metal spectrum or basic good tunes, Animals as Leaders is an astonishingly capable first outing for Abasi into the avant-garde...without being too avant-garde.


REVIEWED BY NEIL LEVENS
NEIL'S FAVORITE TRACKS: "Soraya" • "Behaving Badly" • "Inamorata"


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