Review : ANIMALS AS LEADERS – “Animals as Leaders”

Animals as Leaders – Animals as Leaders
released April 28, 2009 on Prosthetic

The 8-string guitar is not a very common instrument. This is probably due to the fact that it is not for the faint-hearted guitarist. It takes a strong person to wield one, and playing those massive chords is not necessarily an easy tasks. One man, however, can do it. His name is Tosin Abasi, and damn can he shred.

Animals as Leaders brings to the table the latest project from Mr. Abasi. As a fellow player, I must say that he has a quite a good grasp of the instrument and is also fairly literate in the musical language. I must also say the same about his bandmates. Drummer Navene Koperweis may not be going after the blazing solos that Dream Theater‘s Mike Portnoy has become famous for, but his convex, accurate patterns make for an extraordinarily pleasing listen. Chebon Littlefield’s light but strong keyboarding adds the final touches with beautiful atmospherics to tighten the final mix.

This all sounds great on paper, but rarely do albums turn out perfect, no matter how amazing they sound. As with most progressive metal bands, AAL is lacking on the emotion side of things. “CAFO” makes you really feel like an animal in a factory farm and “Thoroughly at Home” makes me want to punch someone square in the face, but most of the tracks fail to really showcase a point. At about 52 minutes, the album also feels a bit too long, essentially winding on and on, losing your attention about halfway through. They could take a hint from the similarly themed Cynic who really know how to pummel their listeners but keep it at a good length. However, if you’re more looking for individual songs that do the trick, this album should at least bring you some degree of satisfaction.

FCC OK
Try 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12

01. Tempting Time
02. Soraya
03. Thoroughly at Home
04. On Impulse
05. Tessitura
06. Behaving Badly
07. The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing
08. CAFO
09. Inamorata
10. Point to Point
11. Modern Meat
12. Song of Solomon

Rating: