Why haven’t I heard of these guys sooner?

I usually make a habit of listening to all of the bands that roll through the Bay Area. In the previous post you’ll notice that Animals is Leaders are coming through town on a Sumerian Records sponsored tour. Sumerian Records sign a lot of technical death metal bands, like The Faceless, so I didn’t really give all of the bands on this tour much of a listen because, well, they all sound kind of similar. Good, but similar. Animals though, they seem to be a whole ‘nother deal. They’re like Cynic on steroids, with a touch of Meshuggah, no vocals and a bitchin’ Jazz vibe.

The Washington D.C. based band released their self-titled album last year on Prosthetic Records, and you can hear some of it on their myspace page. These guys are friggin’ good.