Album Details

• Artist: The Sound Of Animals Fighting
• EP:
Tiger & The Duke
• Label: Equal Vision
• Year of Release: 2005
• Original Release:
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: hstisgod on 2007-06-22

 Wild and cunning, ripping and roaring, all of these descriptives are blank generics when it comes to the group collectively known as the Sound Of Animals Fighting.  When The Sound Of Animals Fighting released their debut off EVR Lover, The Lord Has Left Us in 2006, my initial instinct was, well this is just about the long-lasting members of Bear Vs. Shark and a few of their freak friends getting together with incense and alcohol, but the re-release of their actual debut Tiger & The Duke has me eating my words.  They are a supergroup, but I'm being advised not to tell.  Let's put it this way... one of the hottest groups this year has a hand in the project.  But its not about abusive metal, or awkward techno dream feelers.  The Sound Of Animals Fighting is not about anything but the path in which music leads you.

To track this song by song, is just a redundant task, but lets give it a half ass effort anyway.  Rather I'll sum it all up telling you to expect the unexpected.  Expect similiar sounds to Hellogoodbye, The Fall Of Troy, Depeche Mode, Chiodos, and most of all, expect what you have never f*cking heard before.  Forget those nasty little predictable formats.  Everytime you're ready for a predictable chord progression, you'll be lead into another body writhing energetic motion.  Like track two Act1 Chasing Suns, I'm not so sure the industry is ready for such raw energy, and lack of self control and acknowledgement for the mainstream.  This album is truly something I missed, and feel like a prick for having done so.

   Spectacular guitar effects throughout the disc, instrumentalist focus, and brand of new wave music that has not been heard since who knows, TSOAF is the unique gore and slab of unknown purity I've been looking for.  Act II: All Is Ash Or the Light Shining Through It has a terrific module of rhythms and progressions, starting off moody with soft vocals, and leads into a sped up guitar attack and vocals of different arrangement.  That is the perhaps the most notable effect on this disc, the assorted arrangement of vocalists, and lyrical tones. 

 Expect a lot of interludes, sound effects, and just an explanation of world and atmosphere.  Expect the great humanity of creativity, and expect the unexpected, just do not expect one genre. So many styles can be found here, for instance; Act IV: You Don't Need A Witness feautures sandbagging metal and blues, screamo, funk, both an individual bass and drum solo, and roaring combination of vocalist styles. It's truly exciting imagining seven, eight guys in a studio going from one experimental addition to another. The jumps vary from one style of keyboard, to low tone lyricism, industrial equalizers, muffled drums, and a half a dozen other idea's I wasn't quick enough to catch.

I can sit here all day long, picking each track apart, but bottom line, don't go looking for this album if you desire the old, boring standardized chorus, verse, chorus crap. This album is well beyond that spectrum of predictability, after all The Sound Of Animals Fighting is a self-explanatory name. Wild-out of control, and the Tiger & The Duke is obviously the beautiful human nature at its most distinct, and uninhibited that started it all. As for who is makes up this super group? Guess you'll have to listen in and figure it out for yourself.  Or you can read Dennis' review on Lover, The Lord Has Left Us. Rating is for a terrifically written journey through ALL styles of music.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2007-07-10 Alotofnothing Said:

I just caught the re-release of this after people have been telling me about them forever. It's an excellent album, but I personally think the remixes are shit. Great bunch of talented guys thrown together, though.
Rating: 8/10

Review:

on 2007-07-09 hstisgod Said:

it is a fantastic album kev... you should write a review on their new one.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2007-07-09 kevinare Said:

Ricky has been telling me about these guys for a while and i've liked them for a bit now. definitley a good review, i have never known about this album..also, if you like the sounds of animals fighting you should also check out Cinematic Sunrise.. it is also a side project of Chiodos.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2007-07-06 blackxdan Said:

I love this album. Chasing Suns was the first song I heard from this group. and fell in love within the first lyric. The music is beautiful, and I wasn't really surprised that Anthony Green's vocals went with everything. There is so much going on in each track off of this CD, and it's enough to blow your mind. From this CD you have members from Circa Survive, Rx Bandits, Finch, The Movielife... Just so many great bands. And the new untitled track have even more bands in it, including vocals by Craig Owens.[Chiodos] The most i can compare this band to, from this CD, would be The Fall of troy, but without the vocals. You have to admire the members of TSOAF, it takes great talent to go into the music studio, and just let go. And when presented with the finished product, you have a masterpiece! And yes, i mean a MASTERPIECE. I recommend everyone to go pick up this album. If you don't have it now, i don't know whats wrong with you.
Rating: 10/10