Animals as Leaders
With Conquering Dystopia and Chon
With special guests Shores of Elysium and Novallo
May 24th, 2014 at Skully’s in Columbus, Ohio…
As sometimes happens, there are concerts that just demand you attend. This was one of those. In the interest of full disclosure, I went with the sole purpose of seeing Conquering Dystopia. The last time I saw Jeff Loomis play live was in 2006 with Nevermore on the “This Godless Endeavor” tour. So, with that in mind, I had heard of two bands and listened to one. Apologies to the other bands, including Animals as Leaders, as, again, I was purely interested in Conquering Dystopia. That said, this was an evening of discovery an enjoyment of excellent music.
The first act of the evening was Novallo. They were good, musically and vocally, and at times reminded me a lot of a more progressive Stabbing Westward. I enjoyed their set and they had a good presence. I will need to check out their music – available on bandcamp.com. novallo.bandcamp.com, to be precise. It didn’t seem as though everyone was sold, though – I had to chuckle – I saw, in passing, a text message on someone’s phone that read “so much screaming.” To be fair, it was all on-key, which, trust me, can only be considered a good thing! Check them out on facebook, as well.
The next set of the evening was inflicted at the hands of Shores of Elysium and, believe me, only in the metal community can the adjective “inflict” be considered a positive, and it was. From the opening notes to the closing, it was a relentless infliction of choreographed mayhem and wonton obliteration of eardrum and spinal column alike – and I tend to think they wouldn’t have it any other way. To be honest, I had never heard of this local-ish (Delaware, Ohio) band and, equally honestly, that’s a shame for the local area. I wouldn’t mind seeing them again, though I might keep my aging, not-as-up-for-a-good-violent-pit-as-I-used-to-be, self along the periphery to enjoy the excellent musicianship that went along with brutal vocals. I had to laugh (as opposed to just a chuckle) when the vocals started, because I just thought, “you thought the LAST band screamed? Just wait…” The presence was good and those were some dreads on the bassist – and he had chops, to boot. The band was tight and I give them big props on winning me over not only with personality but with their music. You can find their stuff on iTunes or shoresofelysium.bigcartel.com not to mention their facebook page.
Slight tangent – I’m too freaking old for pits, these, days, it would seem. That said, when did just being a wrecking ball and getting up a head of steam and plowing into unsuspecting patrons attempting to enjoy a show become acceptable? Maybe I’m just a stodgy curmudgeon, here, but dare I say I miss the circle pits?
A band that did not conjure pits was Chon, and that’s completely fine with me. I had heard of them, which was good, but I had no idea what their sound was like or really what to expect. I was completely disarmed with how down to earth and just, honestly good this band is. Both guitarists are technically excellent and without much by way of effects or “brutal riffery,” held the previously unruly audience in thrall with technical runs and solid musicianship backed by equally talented bandmates. I really enjoyed their state presence which, as I think I mentioned, was just disarmingly down to earth. The drums were right up front on the very intimate (read: cramped) stage, to a point where I could pick out the drum sound without amplification. All in all, this band is amazingly talented and very much well worth checking out. Just remember, they’re not your straight-up thrashing instrumental band – they remind me a lot of what would happen if Eric Johnson’s and Blues Saraceno’s music had a proggy lovechild. The cheeky nod to the Power Rangers was endearing, as well. I really, really enjoyed the set – such a pleasant surprise. You can check them out on facebook, iTunes or chon.merchnow.com. They are well worth looking into.
Since I mentioned the size of the stage, may I just say that this is probably the most intimate setting I’ve been in since the Little Giant Room back at Wabash. By “intimate,” I mean “reach out a touch someone” close to the musicians and the artists themselves having roughly 12 feet to work with from back wall to crazed fan. It also sports a diner in the front of the place that has excellent food that, if a little on the pricey side, delivers satisfaction. I can personally recommend the buffalo chicken philly. It works. Really. It was also cool to see just about every band member from each of the bands wander out into the diner for one reason or another. Anyway, small tangent about small stage-space aside, it’s time to get to the reason I was there.
Conquering Dystopia, for those unfamiliar is like the supergroup you’ve never heard of. While there are “supergroups” with Navarro or Slash or some of these other high-profile musicians, you’d be hard pressed to put together a better groups of “super” musicians than the collection of Jeff, Keith, Alex and Alex. Jeff Loomis’ pedigree is legendary, coming from prog-thrash-death-gasm Nevermore and having released a couple of solid solo albums. Keith Merrow has released three of his own albums and collaborated with Jeff on a number of product demo videos in addition to tons of his own. He is also a very tall individual. I just need to get that out there. Alex Webster is the bass force majeure hailing from Cannibal Corpse. If you can hang with a guy named “Corpsegrinder,” you are a worthy addition to this group. On the skins, you have Alex Rudinger from “The Faceless.” His winning personality and ability to turn your innards to jelly with his double-bass round out this group. With all this adulation, could they possibly live up to any expectations set before them?
Conquering Dystopia completely blew away my expectations and they were lofty expectations, indeed. They played the songs I wanted to hear in addition to three others. It seemed like a short-ish set, but considering they played ½ of the album, including the longer piece “Destroyer of Dreams,” that’s still a lot of music. The set consisted of “Prelude to Obliteration,” “Tethys,” “Ashes of Lesser Men,” “Inexhaustible Savagery,” “Kufra at Dusk,” and “Destroyer of Dreams.” I may have forgotten something or gotten something wrong. It happens. What also happened was an interesting phenomenon. The pit…it was the most interesting thing, other than the band, to observe. There was the same body flailing, but it would give way, midway through the songs, as they would suddenly remember they were in the presence of such awesome musicians that, perhaps, it would be well worth watching these guys jam, in their prime and with technical brilliance and sonic savagery (some might say, “inexhaustible…”). Watching each of these musicians, at the various points during the show, one just couldn’t help but be in awe.
Rudinger’s skill on the drums was masterful. Keith was just tall and making the impossible rhythms he and Jeff cooked up look effortless – something to see. Did I mention he makes it all look very easy? For the record, I have seen a lot of metal shows and I have never seen anyone tear it up on the bass with the skill and just…bombastic riffery that I witnessed with Alex Webster. This includes a lot of talented bassists, but after what I watched during “Ashes of Lesser Men,” they all take a bit of a back seat. Sorry, fellas… Then, there’s Jeff. Jeff Loomis’ stage presence is a different kind of presence. He just walks up the edge of the stage and is awesome, just by what he does with the guitar. There’s no need for an “ego ramp,” or weird poses or anything other than just playing the shredding leads he’s written with precision and an effortlessness that makes the guitarist in me cringe a little. It’s awesome to behold. I recommend it to any and everyone. You may not be a fan of metal music, but to see a musician and a master of the craft performing some of the most complicated, intricate and brutally heavy pieces of music in a way that is still amazing and beautiful….it’s still something to experience, and an experience I would recommend every time. This band is the real deal and one of the most talented groups I think you’ll find out there. It was a pleasure to see and I hope that they swing back through this way on another leg of the tour.
Animals as Leaders is an impressive three piece ensemble, to be sure. Even as insanely bright as the backdrop was, it couldn’t outshine the musicianship. I have never been a fan of the 8-string guitars, mainly from a “gear-geek” and “tone snob” standpoint, but I must say I was duly impressed with Tosin Abasi’s tone, live. I’d seen some videos on the web and as such videos tend to be, didn’t do nearly the justice to the tone that they should. This was remedied live. Both Tosin and Javier Reyes are exemplary musicians in full control of their instruments to prove without a doubt they are masters at their craft. I’m not sure what else there is to say – each song was performed with precision, enthusiasm and command. Tosin is a reserved showman and his quiet reserve belies his skill and talent with his guitar. I really enjoyed the show and recommend checking them out, should the opportunity.
Actually, that’s the bottom line – there wasn’t a band on this show card that wasn’t an excellent band, performing well and winning over, if not the crowd, me. I enjoyed myself, immensely, and would attend another show on this tour without hesitation. All the bands showed up and gave it their all, and that’s not something that’s always a given in this over-“pop”’d, lip-syncing world of drek that passes for music, these days. Every last band showed the audience that they respected and appreciated their outlay of cash to see them on this night and performed like it. In sports terms, they all “left it all on the field.” That’s all you can ask for. Well, it doesn’t hurt that they were all very talented and produced good music. So, again, if you have the opportunity to see the Animals as Leaders/Conquering Dystopia/CHON lineup – do it!
