Animals As Leaders MEGATHREAD

[Sebski]

I'm glad they're going back to a more metal sound, it's not amazing but definitely enjoyed it.

I really couldn't stand Weightless just because almost every guitar melody on that album sounded way too odd for me and not pleasant on the ears at all.

I'm hoping for more tracks like On Impulse, CAFO, Songs of Solomon, Point to Point.

I just really want Javier's writing to come out more because I loved some of the Mestis stuff.

 

[fps]

It's live drums. They even posted the video of the drums being tracked a couple months back.

Nope, they'll have been quantized, triggered etc. he will have played live, but then they'll have been endlessly messed around with.

 

[Chuck]

Best Veil of Maya song ever

That was my first thought as well

 

[StevenC]

Ignore this, misread something

I read somewhere it was 4 Javier/Tosin songs and the rest, I think 8, were Tosin/Misha. That could totally be wrong, though. I think it was Misha's ask.fm. This one definitely sounds more Misha than Javier.

 

[JoeyBTL]

Since Javier apparently had nothing to do with the album

When has this been said?

Without even saying if its good or bad, it doesn't really sound like AAL. The lead parts are cool and sound good but as said, it really could be a number of bands. (I do like it in general though. Nothing wrong with some heavies, especially when its not filled with over processed guitar tones.) The other track though, definitely sounds like them. As well as the short teaser video, so I'm still stoked for the album.

 

[anomynous]

Since Javier apparently had nothing to do with the album that's not very likely

wat

 

[Svava]

It sounds like Intervals doing a cover of Misha Mansoor doing a cover of Petrucci's interpretation of an Animals as Leaders song.


...

 

[elnyrb10]

Sumerian definitely leads with the djentiest sumerian-core songs on the album so while I don't doubt there will be other, better stuff on there... these songs are really not what I want to hear from these guys. Best VoM song ever for sure. Mix is super sick tho

i came to post a a very similar point. the reason sumerian decided to post this first is because this song will reach a larger listening audience and make more people excited about this album coming out. that being said, the song is a grower for sure. and i flocking love this mix, but that might be a direct result of my large man crush on nolly but

 

[avinu]

I liked it

 

[Opion]

I do have to admit that when I first heard it, I was like "Hmm, sounds like Tosin and Misha hammering out some Meshuggah-inspired wanking" but it certainly has its unique moments that I've come to expect from Animals as Leaders. Having heard the teaser and the song they've been playing live, I'm not going to pass judgment just from this song alone. I have faith the rest of the record will deliver the goods.

 

[Scattered Messiah]

Hm ... I am honestly surprised by my reaction: total indifference.

This is the first time, an AAL song has a good (even though its terribly modern and compressed) sound, the guitars sound fat and you hear the bass.
The composition is good, but I nearly cried when they did not use the theme at around 2:00 once more in a different context :-(

Other than that? it's slightly more metal than I used to think of AAL, it's also slightly more predictable. I guess that makes a good song to catch a crowd.

What remains to be seen is if the rest of the album will be more "crazy" concerning the used progressions, etc.

So far so good, I guess...

 

[Merge]

I like what I've heard so far, looking forward to hearing the new album.

 

[AugmentedFourth]

I never listened to the second record, but the first one, at least to me, sounded more like a demonstration of what Tosin was able to without anything remotly resembling a "song". Really impressive as a musician, and it actually sounded good, but nothing memorable...
This song on the other hand... wow. Sounds great, not in a "how do you play this with just 2 hands?" way, but as a song. Maybe I just never understood the old stuff. Maybe I should not have stopped trying after 2 or 3 spins. This one immediatly clicked. Good stuff

I find this comment to be interesting, and it's definitely not a unique response to AAL's music. It's pretty common that I see people make comments that AAL songs (for the most part I speak on behalf of their eponymous release) are mostly technical and make for some great guitar wizardry and such without much other substance.

I am curious if the people that say this (like SD83) say it because they are very into metal music. Not trying to offend anybody that holds this very legitimate opinion, but I honestly couldn't have cared less about technical ability or any kind of metal music at all when I first found AAL.

I see a lot of fans of bands/artists such as Sithu Aye, Plini, Piotrek Gruszka, David Maxim Micic, etc. praise them for having tasteful compositions and soloing -- and in some cases I can agree with that -- but in general I find that their harmonies are uninteresting and their development of theme is weak, so that their solos sound unbased (like you said, nothing memorable). AAL doesn't do this. Their compositions on their eponymous (and Weightless for that matter) hearken to various bits of classical music in their development of theme, sense of melody, and harmonic content (harmonic content also often using bits that extrapolate upon jazz music).

Have you ever listened to Modern Meat and not wanted to cry? Have you ever listened to the end of Tempting time and felt the potent manipulation of the lydian mode boggle your mind with its beguiling simplicity? Just listen to David off of Weightless! The sonorities are absolutely crushing, and without the use of drums, distortion, bass, loudness, or technical proficiency that couldn't be pulled off by your average 14 year old.

Don't take this the wrong way -- I'm not trying to make anyone mad or sprinkle fancy words around to look cool or something. I'm just saying that yeah, if you think that AAL is technical wankery or that it can't be that good if it's instrumental, you are in fact missing something. In fact, you might just be missing the whole thing.

EDIT: I decidedly refrain from comment on any new material until the album comes out and I listen to it at least ~5 times.

 

[vilk]

That first leaked song - amazing
This recently released song - well... I just hope it sounds better in the context of the whole album. It might be alright if it's used to break up a couple slower songs. But I hope to god there are no more like it.

I'm a team weightless guy though.

 

[The Reverend]

I liked it. It's also not completely unlike Tosin to throw some grooves into songs that don't necessarily leak solos and chords. In fact, I think Weightless had some pretty extended thumping parts that were all about groove.

Waiting to hear the album before judging. After all, the first time I heard Modern Meat I said, "Meh." Then I heard CAFO six months later and shat.

 

[lawizeg]

I liked it, but I feel like this is one of those times where the first single is one of the 'worst' songs on the album.

I mean for an AAL song compared to like Tempting Time its not remarkable, but still good. Liked the licks a lot, and the groove had me head-bobbin'. I have faith in Tosin.

As for my 'team'...I LOVE the first album to death, in a "I'm just gonna sit here and listen to this blow my mind and love every second of it—aw its over " way. I love Weightless in a "just gonna put on some jams as I do something else" way.

 

[technomancer]

When has this been said?

Without even saying if its good or bad, it doesn't really sound like AAL. The lead parts are cool and sound good but as said, it really could be a number of bands. (I do like it in general though. Nothing wrong with some heavies, especially when its not filled with over processed guitar tones.) The other track though, definitely sounds like them. As well as the short teaser video, so I'm still stoked for the album.

I just realized I completely misread something. Ignore my comments about Javier

 

[JoeyBTL]

I just realized I completely misread something. Ignore my comments about Javier

haha its all good.

 

[jwade]

Strange song, sounded very jam-like compared to what I would expect from AAL. No opinion one way or the other yet, as their albums tend to have a specific flow. I'm very curious to see what this song follows/leads into...

 

[tomsargent]

I find this comment to be interesting, and it's definitely not a unique response to AAL's music. It's pretty common that I see people make comments that AAL songs (for the most part I speak on behalf of their eponymous release) are mostly technical and make for some great guitar wizardry and such without much other substance.

I am curious if the people that say this (like SD83) say it because they are very into metal music. Not trying to offend anybody that holds this very legitimate opinion, but I honestly couldn't have cared less about technical ability or any kind of metal music at all when I first found AAL.

I see a lot of fans of bands/artists such as Sithu Aye, Plini, Piotrek Gruszka, David Maxim Micic, etc. praise them for having tasteful compositions and soloing -- and in some cases I can agree with that -- but in general I find that their harmonies are uninteresting and their development of theme is weak, so that their solos sound unbased (like you said, nothing memorable). AAL doesn't do this. Their compositions on their eponymous (and Weightless for that matter) hearken to various bits of classical music in their development of theme, sense of melody, and harmonic content (harmonic content also often using bits that extrapolate upon jazz music).

Have you ever listened to Modern Meat and not wanted to cry? Have you ever listened to the end of Tempting time and felt the potent manipulation of the lydian mode boggle your mind with its beguiling simplicity? Just listen to David off of Weightless! The sonorities are absolutely crushing, and without the use of drums, distortion, bass, loudness, or technical proficiency that couldn't be pulled off by your average 14 year old.

Don't take this the wrong way -- I'm not trying to make anyone mad or sprinkle fancy words around to look cool or something. I'm just saying that yeah, if you think that AAL is technical wankery or that it can't be that good if it's instrumental, you are in fact missing something. In fact, you might just be missing the whole thing.

EDIT: I decidedly refrain from comment on any new material until the album comes out and I listen to it at least ~5 times.

Good ears, man! I wish I could hear specific modes and the like. Nevertheless, I'm really digging the new song. I think I'll go again for listen number two.