Animals as Leaders

Published: 2 Sep 2024

Animals as Leaders (Self-titled)

Animals as Leaders (Self-titled) Album Cover

Instrumental progressive metal definitely feels like a marmite genre - one can either appreciate the technical excellence and virtuosity of the performers (in this case, Tosin Abasi’s guitar), or dismiss it as pure soulless wankery, which plenty do.

For me, this album has enough energy, enthusiasm and excellent guitar hooks and riffs all throughout this album forms its own emotional core for me to cling on and enjoy, even if the production is a little wonky at times.

Best tracks: Tempting Time, The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing, CAFO, Song of Solomon

Weightless

Weightless Album Cover

AAL is as technical as ever here, in fact too technical for me. It feels cold, impersonal and just too djenty for me. Music like this is a marmite genre in my opinion, and while I like the albums before and after this by AAL, this album never clicked with me.

Best tracks: Do Not Go Gently

The Joy of Motion

The Joy of Motion Album Cover

For my money, the best AAL album by far. It has energy and bounce in spades throughout, complemented with both djent and subdued jazzy sections at times - allowing the band to be far more expansive and varied in the songwriting unlike previous albums. Sometimes pure technical self-indulgence is good.

Best tracks: Kas$cade, Lippincott, Physical Education, Tooth and Claw The Future That Awaited Me, Para Mexer

The Madness of Many

The Madness of Many Album Cover

Nowhere near as fun, unfortunately, and the overreliance on the Djent riffs and a lack of musical variety makes this album suffer as a whole listening experience outside a few ‘obvious’ highlights. Its still demonstrably AaL, but it feels written solely for the performers themselves and themselves alone, by and large. The opener Arithmophobia is a really energetic opener and (almost) closer The Brain Dance is astonishingly good, really beautiful and evocative in a way most AaL songs aren’t.

Just a shame the rest of the album really doesn’t put it all together.

Best tracks: Arithmophobia, The Brain Dance

Parrhesia

Parrhesia Album Cover

I seem to have an up-down-up opinion on every AaL album, and this is no exception - I find this much more enjoyable and a definite way forward at what felt like a rut in The Madness of Many, with the songwriting and performance having a good jazz influence/leaning once again, and a stronger emphasis on interesting, engaging rhythms and patterns that blend much better with the electronic synths used throughout this album in contrast to any other AaL album. At “just” 36 minutes, the album also flies by and really keeps it fresh on each relisten, a feat AaL have only really replicated on The Joy of Motion.

Best tracks: Conflict Cartography, Red Miso, Gestaltzerfall, Asahi, The Problem of Other Minds, Micro-Aggressions