Animosity - Animal

Blackmarket Activities

Let's face it, the current metal scene is overflowing with sub-par metalcore bands. Every time you open an issue of Decibel or Rock Sound magazines your eyes are assaulted with ad after ad for another band offering you the same old mosh and dance. As soon as I'm about to give up on these younger bands, a record like Animal gets thrown into my lap. The latest from the San Francisco murder mob known as Animosity is 29 minutes of unrelenting death metal with occasional forays into hardcore paced beatdowns. With compositions this demanding, it must really work this unit into a killing machine on tour! The rhythm section of drummer Navene Koperweis and former Reflux bassist Evan Brewer rarely get the chance to sit on a groove too long. But I'm not complaining with songs this ruthless!

The production by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou flawlessly captures the band's violent yet technical instrumentation. I'm not really familiar with his set up at God City studios but from what we have here, it seems like he's running an analog board. It would be nice to see more bands of this degree of heaviness recording in this Frontman Leo Miller's frenzied performance and beyond depressing lyrics make for a marriage made in modern hell. Take the line from "You Can't Win" where he screams, "And now I am tired and ****ing ugly and I hate but that's all that I can be." With sentiments that bleak, you can't but feel kinda bad for the guy! But then again what would you expect with an album as over-the-top as Animal? Let's hope he doesn't get happier any time soon!

Carlos Ramirez