The bio Universal sent me for Another Animal isn't really doing them any favors. I will spare you the bad storytelling and simply give you the highlights. This band is essentially Godsmack, with Ugly Kid Joe frontman, Whitfield Crane on vocals. Godsmack (minus Sully Erna) wrote a number of songs over the last few years that never made it onto Godsmack releases. There was so much material, they decided to release the tracks as a side project, called Another Animal. The songs were recorded over 3 weeks in Boston, and Another Animal is now on tour with Alter Bridge, a band with a very similar story. Now, on to the album...


The band says that the songs are all over the place, genre-wise, but it sounds to me like they are simply hitting a few different points on the grunge rock scale, save the incredibly out of place song 'The Thin Line' which is a very strange attempt at a straight up punk song. The rest of the album, however, contains the thick rhythms and heavy guitars that all artists involved have become known for. Despite Whitfield Crane having nothing to do with the creation of these songs, his vocals are the most satisfying part of the record. He sings his face off, as only a man with nothing to lose can.


“Broken Again,” the first single off the album, is a great example of Crane's vocal ability and is accompanied by some of the more subtly impressive guitar riffs. I'm glad this one didn't end up on a Godsmack record. Sully couldn't have sold it the way Whit does. “Find A Way,” the album opener, is another standout track, with its Indian chanting, aggressive instrumentation and Alice In Chains-like harmonies. Not to mention some of the best lyrics on the album, which teeter on trite in some songs and are simply unremarkable in others. “Before The Fall” is one of the cheesier songs, lyrically, which is really too bad since the dancing rhythms and strong melodies lead me to believe it is one of the more fun songs to play live.


“Black Coffee Blues” is an awesome track, and one I really hope is included in a future edition of Guitar Hero, because this song shreds and grooves all over the place. It definitely highlights the FACT that these are all experienced musicians who possess more than the ability to play their instruments, they have mastered its manipulation. My only problem with it is that it isn't nearly long enough, and doesn't take enough turns. I almost wish they could have tied in the smooth groove of the next track, “Fade Away”. Mashed them into one song somehow. There is more exploring for Another Animal to do within this sound, and I hope to hear it on future releases.


“Left Behind” is one of my favorites on the CD and can be credited solely to Whit Crane's vocal performance. I love this man's voice and his delivery is impeccable, even when singing other people's words. I also really dig the guitars in “Left Behind”. They capture some really pleasant tones and stay in the realm of familiarity without sounding like you've heard it a million times before. This would be a good time to talk about production. This band opted to self-produce, and while I think that helped them nail the tones they were going for and kept the album from being overly polished and overly compressed, I think another set of ears could have helped them a little with restraint. “The Thin Line” has no business being on this album, and there are a couple of other songs that just aren't up to snuff compared to other tracks on the record.


Overall, this is a solid debut from pseudo-supergroup Another Animal. A couple songs do give the sense of being Godsmack rejects, but for the most part, this sound really is another animal completely. Should this project be one the band wants to pursue long-term, I would only suggest that Whitfield Crane be a bigger part of the creative process, since his vocal stylings are superior and have been sorely missed from mainstream rock. He is also a much stronger lyricist than guitarist Lee Richards, who wrote the words for this self-titled debut. Each of the members of this band are quite talented and from the sound of it, their collaboration can teach rock newcomers a thing or two about operating in preexisting sound while remaining unique and original.