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I’ll always have the utmost respect for Joe Satriani, but there is something lacking in his music. Despite the fact that Stu Hamm is a phenomenal bassist, most of Satriani’s music focuses so much on his guitar that the presentation is very much unbalanced. Actually, there is a whole slew of guitarists out there with the same problem. Maybe it’s just become the style for instrumental rock bands focusing on a stellar guitarist to let him shine, but it can get boring to me real quick if the whole band doesn’t keep up. What I really want from a band that’s choosing a shredder for their center-piece is to provide an all around amazing band… that just happens to have insane guitar work. If you do it right, they’re no longer guitar solos; they’re just part of the music.
At this point, you’re probably either pissed at me because you think I’ve dissed Satriani in some sort of convoluted manner or you know exactly what I’m talking about. I know there are many bands focusing around intense guitarists out there that actually do have a full band to match the guitarist (e.g. Liquid Tension Experiment), but they are severely out-numbered. Lucky for me, I just found another band that fits the bill. Animals as Leaders is a project based out of Washington D.C. with an absolutely phenomenal guitarist. Few people can eloquently harness an 8-string guitar and even fewer can actually bring emotion to shredding. I was instantly hooked by the guitar, but it’s the fact that every piece of this band is just as incredible that got me addicted.
The whole package is so good that I think they’ll attract people that don’t normally get into guitar centered bands. So even though the guitarist in me says you’ll love Animals as Leaders if you love Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci, the eclectic rock listener in me says you’ll love Animals as Leaders if you love bands like Irepress, The Cancer Conspiracy, Indukti, or even Between the Buried and Me. This debut album is strong all the way through and exhibits just the right amount of diversity to keep obnoxious listeners like me interested beyond the guitar work. Every track was well-crafted and it’s clear these guys aren’t using the guitar as a crutch. Animals as Leaders (2009) is already one of my favorite rock releases for the year. Don’t let this one slip by unnoticed.
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