Ever since the cartoonish screaming face of In the Court of the Crimson King, progressive rock has often felt like a mirror to the mind at its most active and untamable, transmitting feelings of anxiety through complex, intricate compositions. The genre has also always been an outlet for some of rock’s most capable musicians to put their skills to good use, though sometimes (especially with the help of sterile modern-day studio production) to the point of impenetrability. After debuting in 2009 as the solo project of Nigerian-American eight-string guitar wizard Tosin Abasi, Animals as Leaders have walked the tightrope between sheer technical virtuosity and actual emotional resonance, occasionally with thrilling results. Each of their previous three records has presented a tighter and more focussed band, as Abasi’s introduced a wide range of styles, from jazz to djent, into his band’s arsenal. The resulting music—a dense and triumphant brand of instrumental metal, with Abasi’s arpeggiated soloing always at the center—rewards close listening. It can be dazzling or exhausting, depending on your mood.
Drummer Matt Garstka has called the band’s latest album, The Madness of Many, “the most natural-sounding Animals as Leaders album yet,” which seems like a bit like a paradox. There are a few moments on the record when you can see what he might have meant, like the intimate guitar solos that close out “Inner Assassins” or the (relatively) straightforward jazz fusion of “Private Visions of the World.” But, as always, the primary appeal of Animals as Leaders is just how unnatural they sound. Like any of their previous albums, Madness of Many includes no chaotic feedback squeals, no casual studio banter, no shouted count-offs to four (or to sixteen-and-three-eights, or what-have-you). The production is as clean and glossy as ever, and the band’s M.O. remains scoring dystopian cyborg fights on a burning planet as shooting stars explode in the background. Of course, they sound great doing it. More than any Animals as Leaders record yet, this one feels like the band settling into their skills, simply playing off each other as opposed to pushing themselves to new heights.
Rather than “natural,” a more apt descriptor for Madness of Many might be Animals as Leaders’ most comfortable sounding album yet. Madness is a spacious and satisfying record: what it lacks in standout moments, it makes up for in coherence. Its ten tracks, all hovering around the five-minute mark, mostly steer clear of the band’s patented everything-at-once assault, favoring a slower burn. Few of these tracks feel like entirely new territory for the band, with Abasi returning to familiar tones and patterns and each song skittering around similar tempos. The moments that do feel new, like the lurching electronic raga of album opener “Arithmophobia,” are a welcome introduction of new texture into the occasionally monotonous mix of guttural guitars and synth.
The album’s most daring section is its finale– the meditative sprawl of “The Brain Dance” and “Apeirophobia.” It’s not surprising to hear that Abasi is as inventive with acoustic guitar tones as he is with electric, but it’s a relief to hear him switch it up by the album’s end. “The Brain Dance” takes influence from both Latin guitar and Appalachian folk, with an ominous backdrop of reverb, while “Apeirophobia” is the album’s sparsest piece, layering guitars into a tranquil choir of strings. Both songs find Abasi stepping back from his frantic pace to take a breath, to maybe even enjoy himself. The title of Animals as Leaders’ previous album, The Joy of Motion, referred to Abasi, a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, noticing how quickly his hands moved as he played guitar. On these two songs, he seems more content to let us bask in the joy of taking a break from all the noise.
