Interviews

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

TODAY IS THE DAY - Animal Mother

With writing a review of an album by a truly great band comes the question; should I judge it solely on its own artistic merits, or within the context of their previous work? I have come to the conclusion that I must try to do both at once.

Starting with the context, Animal Mother constitutes the smallest stylistic leap between albums since before the band’s glorious Relapse Records days, and coupled with previous outing, Pain is a Warning, it is not so much a return to form, but more of a case of jumping back in the saddle after being violently bucked by the artistic failure of the abysmal offering of Kiss the Pig, and the frankly boring Axis of Eden.
What makes the record good is that it is the product of the deranged mind of Steve Austin, what makes it less than stellar is Steve’s seeming inability to break new ground at the same pace he did on every album from the debut Supernova, up to, and including, the most insane aural hell ride in the history of recorded music, that is the sadly under appreciated Sadness Will Prevail double album.

As a debut album for a new band, Animal Mother would surely turn some heads, but as a tenth full length for an artist slowly coming to terms with the fact that the cult status bestowed upon him by the one-two combo of his unfuckwithable masterpieces Temple of the Morning Star and In the Eyes of God, has all but evaporated with everyone other than the most diehard of diehard fans. Animal Mother is merely a competent addition to an already solid discography, and it might prove to be the last gasp of a band that once turned a whole genre upside down. [Southern Lord]
- Bogi Bjarnason


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