Animals as Leaders is the debut studio album by American instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. It was released on April 28, 2009 by Prosthetic Records. In 2015, a reissue titled Animals as Leaders – Encore Edition was released with bonus tracks.
Background
Before Animals as Leaders Tosin Abasi was a member of metalcore band Reflux that had been disbanded.[1] Reflux's former record label Prosthetic Records saw Abasi's guitar work and asked him to create a solo album for them. Abasi initially declined, feeling such an endeavor would be "egotistical and unnecessary".[2] Afterwards, Abasi enrolled in the Atlanta Institute of Music which helped give him new creative ideas for music composition.[1] Abasi later changed his mind saying that "doing a solo album seemed to make a lot more sense", and decided to take the label's offer.[1] However, he did not want the project's new album to just represent the idea of one person.[3] Abasi's school experience aided him in developing ideas for the album. While at school he learned fundamental harmony, jazz playing standards, and improved on playing classical guitar.[4]
Composition, recording and production
Animals as Leaders was recorded in early 2008. Abasi recorded all guitar and bass tracks on the album; drums and various synthesized effects were programmed by engineer Misha Mansoor (Periphery, Haunted Shores).[2]
Abasi and Mansoor are credited for composing the music for all tracks on Animals as Leaders.[3] All twelve tracks on the album are guitar driven instrumentals that are intended to showcase Abasi's guitar skills.[3] Abasi uses techniques such as tremolo picking, sweep-picking, two-handed tapping, fingerpicking, and slapping throughout the album.[3]
Release and reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [5] |
| Rock Sound |   [6] |
The album was released on April 28, 2009 by Prosthetic Records,[7] and was met with positive reviews. It was also called "the 12th best album of 2009" by metalsucks.net[8]
Ken McGrath of Rock Sound described the album as "a space-prog head-trip" and compared its sound to Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, 65daysofstatic, and Meshuggah.[6]
Track listing
All tracks written by Tosin Abasi and Misha Mansoor.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tempting Time" | 5:23 |
| 2. | "Soraya" | 4:27 |
| 3. | "Thoroughly at Home" | 4:02 |
| 4. | "On Impulse" | 6:09 |
| 5. | "Tessitura" | 1:06 |
| 6. | "Behaving Badly" | 4:26 |
| 7. | "The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing" | 5:32 |
| 8. | "CAFO" | 6:41 |
| 9. | "Inamorata" | 6:08 |
| 10. | "Point to Point" | 1:44 |
| 11. | "Modern Meat" | 2:06 |
| 12. | "Song of Solomon" | 4:16 |
| Total length: | 52:00 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Wave of Babies" | 5:29 |
| 14. | "Kalimba" | 6:38 |
| 15. | "Orea" (Demo) | 1:57 |
| Total length: | 66:04 | |
Personnel
- Tosin Abasi – guitars, bass, production
- Misha Mansoor – bass, production, engineering, drum programming, mixing, mastering
- Vinny Vinh - drums (bonus track “Kalimba”)
- Jay Wynne – artwork, design
References
- ^ a b c Politte, Elliott. "Tosin Abasi: 8-String Animal". Guitar Edge.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Allyn, Bobby (February 9, 2009). "Q&A: Animals as Leaders." Washington City Paper. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Ali, Reyan. "Animals As Leaders Riff Out: There's more to Tosin Abasi's instrumental prog-metal outfit than guitar heroics". OC Weekly.
- ^ Magnotta, Andrew (31 July 2023). "Interview with Tosin Abasi from Animals As Leaders: Caged Beast". The Aquarian Weekly.
- ^ Animals as Leaders at AllMusic
- ^ a b McGrath, Ken (June 2009). "Animals as Leaders – Animals as Leaders" (Review). Rock Sound (123).
- ^ "Animals as Leaders Unveils Artwork, Track Listing for Debut Album Archived October 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine" (March 20, 2009). Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ "Vince Neilstein's Top Twenty Metal Albums of 2009". 17 December 2009.
- ^ Animals as Leaders – Encore Edition at Discogs. Retrieved 05/08/2015.
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