Anima

The Daily Grind

Written by: PP on 29/08/2008 01:40:39

I'll let the cat outside straight from the start of this review, and proclaim Anima as one of the best deathcore bands around at the moment. Their second album "The Daily Grind" is testament to all best qualities of the genre; the relentless speed, ridiculously technical, melodic guitar passages that contrast the deathcore growls & Job For A Cowboy-esque pig squeals, and the breakneck speed drumming normally found in the death metal scene. Why death metal purists would resent instrumental work this good is a mystery to me, as Anima challenges the proficiency of the heavyweights in that genre, AND they play the passages at double the speed!

Take a look at album opener "Behind The Mask", for instance, a ravaging piece that sets the pace for the album as suitably lunatic for the genre. There's lots of infectious melody, plenty of killer hooks, all of it continuously contrasted by vocalist Robert Horn's brutally growled, shrieked and squealed vocal work, that absolutely ranks among the best performances in this genre. The lead single "Sitting In The Wardrobe" boasts with intense guitar tapping and brutal shredding throughout, throwing an obvious speed challenge for the next Job For A Cowboy album.

Best of all, Anima makes it all sound so easy, the album flows smoothly like an unobstructed river, helped by the perfect production level for their style: razorsharp on the edges, but tight and clear at the same time. So even if the tag 'deathcore' makes your insides turn merely upon hearing it, try ignore it and don't pass by Anima and "The Daily Grind" unnoticed; it's a too good death/grind/metalcore fusion to miss.

8

Download: Behind The Mask, Sitting In The Wardrobe
For the fans of: Job For A Cowboy, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour
Listen: Myspace

Release date 25.08.2008
Metal Blade

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