Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders (2009)

This is one of the first djent records I heard since its sudden growth in popularity in the last year or so. It’s the solo project of ex-Reflux guitarist Tosin Abasi, and it is still one of the most technical but smooth djent records around.

The record is entirely instrumental. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though: There is a lot of very talented bands out there who are brought down by a weak vocal performance, and in the case of this album, it would be a struggle to find vocals to match the ability and feel of the music. This certainly isn’t, however, a boring record, which all instrumentals run the risk of being. The guitar-work and sound is varied and never plain, and so it remains engaging throughout. Both guitarists play on 8 strings, so there’s certainly never a shortage of notes available. It also allows a real depth: There is a mix of the heavier power chording and the intricate solo work a lot of which is only possible with the additional strings, giving this album a fairly unique sound: To most guitarists, 7 strings seems a ridiculous amount, but 8? Sadly almost unheard of to my knowledge.

Tosin may be a touch modest – he initially refused to do this album because he thought it ‘egotistical’ – but his talent is certainly starting to get noticed, even if he refuses to accept it himself. Personally I think he’s one of the most skilled and original guitarists in the world at the moment. If you think yourself to be a good guitarist, go and learn some of the material on this record and you’ll find out why. Not only is their great technicality, but the music flows in a progressive and melodic way that is incredibly listenable, and definitively likable. And Tosin makes it all sound so easy.

The now famous Misha Mansoor worked on some of the production of this album, and you can certainly tell. However, luckily, this is not a clone of his production on the seemingly millions of djent records that are spilling out as a result of Periphery: Tosin seemed keen to maintain his own sound. This is very fortunate, because it separates Animals as Leaders from the pack, and this needs to be separate, because it’s something special. I am anxious to hear any new material from Tosin: definitely one of the guitarists of the future; Petrucci eat your heart out.


8/10



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1. Tempting Time
2. Soraya
3. Thoroughly at Home
4. On Impulse
5. Tessitura
6. Behaving Badly
7. The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothng
8. Cafo
9. Inamorata
10. Point to Point
11. Modern Meat
12. Song of Solomon