Review: Animals As Leaders - The Joy of Motion
[Sumerian; 2014]
Rating: 6.5/10
By Justin Silk, Staff Writer
Key Tracks: "Another Year," "Ka$cade," "The Woven Web"
The Joy of Motion is exactly what Animals as Leaders fans wanted. It’s a technical masterpiece filled with complex rhythms and outstanding guitar work. The album is without a doubt the next step in the band’s evolution and will be seen as a major triumph in the progressive metal community.
Animals as Leaders’ third album, however, is far from perfect. There are very few memorable melodies on The Joy of Motion. Beyond that, the album as a whole lacks feeling. There is very little emotional build up on any of the songs. Animals as Leaders created a technically impressive piece of work with The Joy of Motion, but at same time the band failed to use songwriting sensibilities that would have improved the album.
The reason for The Joy of Motion’s flaws could be credited to there being too many cooks in the kitchen. The album is a more collaborative effort by the band members than previous records where Abasi’s vision triumphed over all. Furthermore, the band brought composed Misha Mansoor back into the fold, thereby adding another creative voice into the mix. Periphery bassist Adam Getgood also helped out with creating The Joy of Motion alongside former Animals as Leaders drummer Navene Kopenweis.
With creative insight from so many different musicians, the album most likely became over thought out. Animals as Leaders’ first record was a roaring success because it was impulsive, and that feeling of spontaneity is totally gone with The Joy of Motion. Everything feels well-planned out, and, as a result, the album just isn’t as exciting.
Typical Animals as Leaders fans who adore complicated progressive metal will still freak out over this record. The musicianship here is insane. Half of the enjoyment of listening to Animals as Leaders’ music is wondering how the band members could possibly be playing what is on the album. Yet the music is there, and the best thing to do is just to sit back and gawk at it.
Album opener “Ka$cade,” will instantly have listeners wigging out. The band wastes little time even setting a tone for the album. Abasi and his crew just dive into the music with an insane polyrhythm that will have fans of progressive music instantly hooked.
From there, the album takes twists and turns with musical experimentation that always result in impressive musical sequences. Unfortunately, after so many of these musical moments, they all start to blur together, and the shortage of memorable melodies turns the album a haze of outstanding musicianship.
That may not totally sound like a bad thing, but with no ups or downs, the album gets stale. Songs such as “Another Year,” “Physical Education” and “The Woven Web” still stand out a little bit, but not nearly enough. The Joy of Motion lacks melody and feeling, relying solely on impressive musicianship to carry it.
The lesson learned on this album is that just because music is complex doesn’t mean it is good. Progressive metal bands tend to forget that too often, and it’s a shame that one of the scene’s greatest acts has made the same mistake.
