I agree, this music is not for the masses. This is basically music for musicians, it showcases the insane level of talent but most people will just hear noise.
Well, I technically am a very basic musician "noodling" on the guitar, but I have no idea how they perform at such high technicity, speed, quality..., yet I do enjoy it A LOT! ^^
I remember Woven Web was the first song of theirs I listened to. I didn't bother listening to anything else from them for a while because I didn't think there would be anything as good as Woven Web. I was wrong
Hey Gang - The first upload got partially blocked on a copyright claim by WMG so I had to re-render with a static pic and not the original music vid. - watch gonna do. So hopefully this one won't get C-Blocked - Awwwwwwright!
Thumbnail only seems like the right way to go about this Geebz, I would stick to this as standard for these breakdowns, definitely don't want to see you get copyright striked off the platform!
This sucks to hear. I do wonder how some channels manage to do it and continue. But hey, you do what you can and the important part is we hear you and get your perspective and knowledge. Anyone can watch the music video and listen to the song. It's about see what you have to say, at the end of the day.
I’d love to be a student of yours. And I’d love to hear you jam some originals you wrote. I’ve heard some and it’s really good. You got a cool personality and maybe we could get a jam session vid? I’m freezing here with no power in Texas and this video made my night. Keep up the good work Geebz! Aloha
I'm just happy to see that so many of us enjoy such a wide variety of music collectively. A lot of the songs you've decomposed have a deep, unique and often very personal meaning to us on the individual level. Your reactions help us to find even more meaning, strengthening our bond to a song even more. Thank you for that. Still here, not leaving.
Tosin really is that guy that makes you want to buy an 8 string guitar, lock the door and spend the next 8 years practicing 24/7 and just open the window and throw all your gear out because you know you'll live the rest of your days frustrated there's no chance to get on his level at the same time.
I'd never heard AAL when I saw them with the Devin Townsend Project. Three songs in I turned to the guy next to me and said, "I'm done. I'm selling my gear and taking up golf."
Saw these guys open up for lamb of God and Killswitch.. I love all three but damn! Animals as leaders came to frigging destroy!! Everyone was frozen and mesmerized! My drummer and I saw it so many people even wearing lamb and Killswitch merch left early after hearing them before hand. They stole the entire show!!! Randy even said they were insane and next level and something that just blew there minds to see on tour! And uncomparible and gave them a huge shout out. Needles to say animals got the most cheers in the house. They were just next level wild. And they closed with this song. And that scale he fingertaps he def hit a boost pedal on it and that screamed!!!!
Abasi is probably the first guy since EVH to revolutionize guitar playing techniques to this level. The guy is just head and shoulders above all of his contemporaries. Selective picking/thumping/tapping who thinks of that and how???
Apart from his otherworldly talent and musical intelligence, he's a testament to effective and dedicated practice. You can tell the guy plays for hours upon hours, but to effective purpose, perfecting techniques and ideas and using those hours and hours to continue to improve.
fun fact, this track is from the first album, which was essentially a Tosin solo project produced by Misha Mansoor (the founder of Periphery). Drums were programmed. This fact makes Garstka's drumming on this song when they play it live now even more impressive considering he's replacing programmed drums. :)
Misha programs his drums to be playable by a real drummer. He doesn’t go crazy and write stuff that’s impossible to play because it’s not tasteful in the majority of cases. Misha understands that a person only has four limbs to play with.
You have to give their OG drummer credit. Navene Koperweis is another underrated monster drummer that played this shit live, and also helped write drums for their 2nd album
@@Koivisto147 there is always recorded bass. the recorded bass track is used in the live backing track. On this album it was actually recorded with a guitar and pitched down though.
@@juankshalonga7190 no. Previous Tosin had a signature Ibanez, he now uses his own brand of guitars! Abasi Guitars! I’m not sure what Javier is playing these days.
@@Haughaus from wikipedia: "The name Animals as Leaders was inspired by Daniel Quinn's 1992 novel Ishmael, which addresses anthropocentrism. Abasi coined the name as a reminder "that we're all essentially animals". I would have thought Animal Farm as well.
I have never enjoyed a reaction vid before. One day I was bored and decided to click on an Opeth reaction video. Well, I'm pretty sure I've seen every video since Harlequin Forest even if I didn't like a song or band you reacted to. Keep up the great work and thanks for all you do for the kids too!
Fun fact: the "bass" part and the lead tapping part you're talking about around the 4 minute mark is all the same guitarist at once. He's using an 8 string, using his left hand to tap the bass part, and playing the leading melody with his right. Edit: here's a timestamped video of him doing it if you're interested: ruclips.net/video/j20pULM1-x4/видео.html
@@samuelbalanin331 Enjoy man, I wish I could forget all about them just so I could listen to them for the first time again. Their stuff has radically changed how I look at music in general.
me too. i'm not a musician, but it's so interesting to hear these songs being broken down into their bare essentials in such a clear and concise way. it's really great stuff.
Of particular note: the self titled AAL album is Tosin Abasi on all instruments, the drums are samples and programmed. This is literally more of a self recorded composition than a band playing the song.
You should watch a live version of this. In that part where the "bass" part is in sync with the kick drum, the second guitar player (Javier Reyes) stops playing and gets the crowd to clap in unison to that part!
@@OvergrownWithTheMoss I remember hearing about the line 6 pod and gaming pc thing in an old interview with misha or tosin. AAL's Wikipedia says misha wrote some synth and overdubs and programmed some drum parts for the first album and produced it. Misha had a larger role in The Joy of Motion actually helped write a lot of the riffs and drum and synth parts, while Nolly helped write Tooth and Claw.
I was lucky enough to get to see these guys when they were still openers. My first thought was "Why do they need 8 strings?". I quickly found out when they started playing. Might have been 10 years ago, before 8 strings became kinda normal.
4:27 Sir, that clean sound is all Tosin. He's playing it all at once. Also, if you like this band, you should check out The Glass Bridge and Cylindrical Sea. They have some more of that incredible musicianship, and the latter has some more of those INSANE sweeps you mentioned in this video.
@@JoshStobart I have a near 90° hitchhiker's thumb and people comment on it, but that man could teach 5th grade math with that thumb... The only acute angle hitchhiker's thumb I've seen, and you're very right when you say he puts it to good use. Man's whole technique in the picking hand revolves around it, even his normal picking posture is unattainable to 99.999% of the population.
@@robadobflob3405 I have a 90º hitchhiker's thumb aswell. I had a brazilian guitar teacher for about a year that had an acute-angle thumb, kind of like Tosin's, but the guy had hitchhiker's... Everything. Every single finger of his bent back significantly with his hands outstretched. It was freaky, but the guy was an absolute beast at guitar.
Tosin has literally changed the way some people play guitar. Hes inventive in ways that I'll never understand. Buuut, as a drummer, my love falls with Matt and his polyrythmic beastness!
4:38 If you're curious, Animals As Leaders alternates between using 7 and 8-string guitars (this song is a 7-string song). They have no dedicated bassist, however, they always have some kind of bass track going on in the background, sometime played by an actual bassist.
Animals As Leaders @ Brutal Assault live playing the Woven Web and CAFO is one of the best videos of them on RUclips. Matt playing CAFO on drums instantly improves this massively and they sound amazing live. Great react/review!!
everything off this Animals as Leaders album is amazing! This band was my first introduction to this genre. Thank you a lot for the reaction.. We love you
Rick Beato has interviewed Tosin Abasi at least a couple times on his channel. I could listen to him just talk music almost as much as I could listen to his playing. 😂
This track is from the first album and it's actually just Tosin playing everything, with his friend Misha Mansoor (of Periphery) producing the album, tracking the drums, and helping with compositional arrangements. Javier Reyes (their other guitarist) joined in when they began touring, and their current drummer Matt Garstka came on during their 3rd album.
This is what I term "an accumulative track" In that its about the end riff , but that end riff is defined shaped and given context by how you get there (the rest of the track). This is not to say its the only good bit of the track, but its for sure the stand out part. This band and Tool do this, you know its building to something, you are never sure what, but you know until that point you are receiving the foundation, or even something designed to juxtapose what is coming. Opeth also do that kind of thing. All 3 bands do it in different ways, but they all have that concept of building to a specific theme or riff that marks the climax of the track and it always feels like the destination (almost like root note in a scale) They create that tension across the track and resolve it with the final main theme. The main theme is always gold, but its made exceptional with the push pull tension release of journey, and it make the resolution so satisfying (sometimes they hint at the main theme, sometimes its played earlier in the track, sometimes not) I wish they had not faded the end
Interestingly enough I believe that the drums for his album were actually programmed by Misha Mansoor, the guitar player from Periphery. They later found a drummer to join the band once they started touring.
Just wanted to thank you on not only these outstanding reviews but your breakdowns really help me make and improve my own pieces as I'm quite inexperienced with it atm, thank you so much man
I love you so much man, honestly, you are probably up there as one of the most personable and knowledgeable reactors out there. Always humble, always attentive, always open minded. It’s good to see this attitude twords a channel 👏🏻
Great song! Tosin Abasi is on another level when it comes to guitar playing and song writing. Definitely come back to Gojira eventually. Just put out a new song today!
Oh by the way, when they play this live they usually end it by having their human dynamo, Matt Garstka, creating a percussive meteor storm while they loop the rhythm riff in the background. Usually at the end of the show too. Front row viewers have been known to spontaneously combust.
might have been said already, but Tosin typically plays 8 string guitars , doing both bass and rhythm/lead parts. he also loops and plays over himself. The drummer that came in afterwards is an animal studio drummer basically kids a machine.
Also, I just wanted to add...watching you try to figure out the first two minutes of this....the look on your face!!! It was like you were impressed, angry, confused, and amazed all at one time! keep it up Geebz! We love you man! Aloha!
Believe it or not the lower notes that match the kick in the first section are from the lead guitar while also doing the tapping. Javier Reyes, the other guitar player, does a very subtle tremolo picking part during the second half of that section
This is one of those songs where all of us remember the first time we heard this. We also remember introducing all of our friends to this. This the THE intro song to the progressive metal genre. Tosin is a freaking genius.
The part you were talking about with the bass sound lining up with the kick. It was one guitar doing both the low and tapping the highs at the same time in a polymeter. The second guitar is doing ambient work along with the pads.
I am so utterly impressed at the various bands you have reviewed. I NEVER would have expected to see you dive into Animals As Leaders, Protest the Hero, etc. Seriously kickass. Keep doing a great job!
About bass in Animals As Leaders, on their first album (which CAFO is from) they used pitch-shifted single guitar notes. Their second album Weightless was exclusively synth bass. The Joy of Motion, their third, has mixed synth bass and sometimes bass guitar (f.e. Lippincott, Tooth and Claw & Para Mexer - were played by their producer, Nolly). And The Madness of Many, their most recent work, I believe has both bass guitar and synth bass again, though fully played by Tosin/Javier (the guitar players)
Just so you get more amazed, during the tapping that matches the bass kick, is done by the lead guitarrist as well. Left hand plays those bass notes while the right plays the higher melody.
2 years late here but definitely enjoyed your reaction of this track. Animals As Leaders is one of my top favorite bands and I'm definitely in that small category of instrumental listeners. your knowledge of music helped me understand more about music just in this video alone, and just discovered you too! You've gained a new subscriber thank you for the video!
AAL have so many great compositions. "Lippincott" comes to mind immediately - they have such a knack for establishing a killer motif and developing it over time. Definitely one of the most creative bands ever.
This is probably mentioned elsewhere in the comments but at the time of recording this track (and the whole first album) 'the band' was just Tosin composing guitar & bass and the producer (Misha of Periphery) programmed the drums and additional arrangements.
Tempting Time was my first exposure to AAL, I saw the performance Tosin did at Sweetwater some years back and I think that's an awesome way to introduce people to the band. When I first saw Tosin I had to pause it because I was laughing so hard, his fingers looked like spider legs or something, it was so unnaturally fast and fluid the way he moved around the fretboard was so unexpected that I had to pause it and regain my composure. To this day I've never seen any other musician be able to move their fingers the way he does. Everyone I've ever showed it to said something along the lines of "Wait, what!?". It's one thing to hear it but when you see the way he moves his fingers it's just...wow.
Now you need to react to AAL with Matt Garstka on drums. He's unbelievable. And Tosin is, well, Tosin. And Javier really keeps it all nicely molded together.
My man the utmost respect for you and the channel you´re running here... Haken is also a band you could check, i´d love to see that, gone through all your tools (die hard fan here) and now im checking the rest... Created a channel to give you this comment i love your honesty in the content. Covid free hug from islander to islander (Cuban here XD)
Love starting the day off with some CAFO, gets the brain juice flowin Suggestions: Slice The Cake - Stone And Silver Part 1 - The Mountains of Man Textures - Awake Slice The Cake - Unending Waltz Slice The Cake - Westward Bound Part I - The Lantern Dance Gavin Dance - Blue Dream Emarosa - The Past Should Stay Dead Slipknot - Vermilion
AAL is one of my fave djent/ prog bands. They are insanely talented. Yes they have 2 guitarists playing two EIGHT STRING guitars. Tosin Abasi ( lead) is one of the ultimate talents in modern metal. Hands down top notch. It's amazing the HUGE sound they get with only 3 guys like Rush did back in the day. Keep it up Geebz. Check out Modem Day Babylon and Distant Dream and Widek for some other great bands
One of my favorite instrumental metal bands is Blotted Science. Ron Jarzombek, the writer of the music, is often times referred to as, "your favorite guitar player's favorite guitar player".
What I love about this kind of music is, from chaos, beauty arises, that is the way of the universe. Just look at the evolution of stars: from the chaotic turbulence of gas-clouds, a beautiful sun rises to nurture a whole planetary system.
You are the best reaction channel on here my guy. Being able to listen to a reaction like yours, referring to musician's trickery in playing halftime and such, keep it up! Also, haven't watched it yet but saw you uploaded a video on Danny Elfman. Yes. Absolute yes.
Cool thing, Nolly from Periphery actually did track bass for their earlier albums. I don't know if he was on The Madness of many but that's the story I believe. Also that clean part, that's all Tosin tapping before Javier comes in with the chugs. Good stuff, it's definitely music for musicians
You should have watched the video for the song. It helps a lot to see that Tosin is actually just playing everything lol. Also, the mix has a bass recorded on it. You can hear it pretty clearly, but it's heavily distorted to fit in the mix and not be overtly noticed, but felt.
One thing worth remembering is that while the band doesn't have a bass player as a member, they do record bass backing track. Im pretty sure that for this album it was Misha Mansoor from Periphery who actually helped with recording bass.
Since you are in an instrumental groove, check Soften The Glare: 'March Of The Cephalopods'. 3 piece with bass, guitar, and drums. The bassist is Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne who you did a reaction to their song 'Dig'
Hey man, absolutely love your analysis of and appreciation for the finer details of music. You acknowledge that they're masters of their craft but you don't let yourself succumb to amazement. Pretty awesome man.
Hey, I'm fairly new to this channel and just scratching the surface of you breakdown vids, and I'm loving your style and enthusiasm so far. It's cool to see an older generation with both experience in the music industry, and an appreciation for the art of heavy metal. I think a band you might really enjoy is Mandroid Echostar. They're a newer group that only released their first full album a few years ago, but they are super talented and I can't wait to see more of them. A great song to start with from them is Ancient Arrows. Keep on rocking dude!
Seeing them play this live was truly something else. Tosin (lead guitarist) uses a looper pedal to record the intro sweep arpeggios and continues playing double duty while pulling everything off flawlessly.
Everyone always gushes about Tosin but Javier is not only an LTD artist but an Ortegas Classic Guitars artist. Yes, that's an 8 string classical guitar; No, it's not as unusual as you might think. Javier also has his own project called "Mestis" Ortega Guitars Artist Javier Reyes performs "Suspiro" with his 8-String Classical Guitar 357,890 views•Sep 23, 2016 [omitted youtube link because they make comments disappear] Ortega Guitars artist Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders performs classical guitar solo titled, "Suspiro". This is the first of four videos with Javier Reyes Ortega Guitars: JRSM-RWC Signature Series Javier Reyes 8-String Nylon Guitar Suspiro - "this song is named Suspiro which translates to the word "sigh". The mood of song leaves wanting to take deep breaths either out of suspense and relief". Javier MESTIS - MediaNoche (Playthrough) 338,372 views•Aug 26, 2020 [omitted youtube link because they make comments disappear] Guitar: Japan Custom ESP Vintage Plus 8 String Pickups: Custom Dimarzio Strat 8 string pickups Amp: Synergy Syn2, Pitbull Module Neural DSP Archetype: Plini Pedals: Bogner Harlow Comp/Boost, Empress Effects ParaEQ, Strymon Big Sky, Dunlop Echoplex MESTIS is Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders
Dude, these videos have been such a pleasure. Please keep it up, i seriously get so excited whenever I see a new video is posted. Thank you for all the work you’re putting into these videos. Also, someone get this man some Scale the Summit, STAT
Great reaction! This band is one of the biggest reasons that I got into this style of progressive metal. They are absolutely fantastic in both musicianship and composition. Now since you liked them I have to recommend the other band (or artist rather) that helped me get into this style. Chimp Spanner plays in this particular neighborhood of progressive metal as well although I would consider his composition style a bit more melodic perhaps more akin to that of Plini but heavier overall. The LP, At The Dreams Edge, from Paul Ortiz aka Chimp Spanner is simply a masterpiece from beginning to end. For a great introduction to the sound of this artist I would recommend either Supererogation or Under One Sky from the LP. These are great all around tracks that give a good a taste of what Mr. Ortiz does in his music. I hope you enjoy! Your reactions are always interesting and informative. Keep up the great work!
I was introduced to these guys at a live show in Boulder, CO. About half way through the show I turned around and saw the crowd. Nothing but musicians, standing perfectly still just watching every movement. Well, except those two girlfriends that were dragged to the show. Those two looked quite confused.
I agree, this music is not for the masses. This is basically music for musicians, it showcases the insane level of talent but most people will just hear noise.
My first thought was "I'm not a musician though", then I remembered that I'm a singer. Lol.
You're right on with this comment.
I'm a air drummer / air guitarist....does that count?
Well, I technically am a very basic musician "noodling" on the guitar, but I have no idea how they perform at such high technicity, speed, quality..., yet I do enjoy it A LOT! ^^
I'm not a musician at all, but i freaking love this song.
I'm no musician but most of my close friends are.
'Woven Web' by Animals as Leaders is an easy recommendation.
Ooooofffffff
YES
I remember Woven Web was the first song of theirs I listened to. I didn't bother listening to anything else from them for a while because I didn't think there would be anything as good as Woven Web. I was wrong
definitely one of their most fully realized tunes
Also Tooth and claw and brain dance.
Hey Gang - The first upload got partially blocked on a copyright claim by WMG so I had to re-render with a static pic and not the original music vid. - watch gonna do. So hopefully this one won't get C-Blocked - Awwwwwwright!
Thumbnail only seems like the right way to go about this Geebz, I would stick to this as standard for these breakdowns, definitely don't want to see you get copyright striked off the platform!
Videos are a distraction anyway :-)
This sucks to hear. I do wonder how some channels manage to do it and continue. But hey, you do what you can and the important part is we hear you and get your perspective and knowledge. Anyone can watch the music video and listen to the song. It's about see what you have to say, at the end of the day.
I’d love to be a student of yours. And I’d love to hear you jam some originals you wrote. I’ve heard some and it’s really good. You got a cool personality and maybe we could get a jam session vid? I’m freezing here with no power in Texas and this video made my night. Keep up the good work Geebz! Aloha
I'm just happy to see that so many of us enjoy such a wide variety of music collectively. A lot of the songs you've decomposed have a deep, unique and often very personal meaning to us on the individual level. Your reactions help us to find even more meaning, strengthening our bond to a song even more. Thank you for that. Still here, not leaving.
Tosin really is that guy that makes you want to buy an 8 string guitar, lock the door and spend the next 8 years practicing 24/7 and just open the window and throw all your gear out because you know you'll live the rest of your days frustrated there's no chance to get on his level at the same time.
I'd never heard AAL when I saw them with the Devin Townsend Project. Three songs in I turned to the guy next to me and said, "I'm done. I'm selling my gear and taking up golf."
@@nickbarrett3163 ...but what he didn't know was that Tosin plays in the masters every year.
I think playing golf while listening to AAL is the way to do it
Never with that attitude.
Amen
8:11 I’m not a guitarist, I’m a drummer. However I just need appreciate how SICK that’s guitar riff sounds. Easily one of my all time favourite riffs
Saw these guys open up for lamb of God and Killswitch.. I love all three but damn! Animals as leaders came to frigging destroy!! Everyone was frozen and mesmerized! My drummer and I saw it so many people even wearing lamb and Killswitch merch left early after hearing them before hand. They stole the entire show!!! Randy even said they were insane and next level and something that just blew there minds to see on tour! And uncomparible and gave them a huge shout out. Needles to say animals got the most cheers in the house. They were just next level wild. And they closed with this song. And that scale he fingertaps he def hit a boost pedal on it and that screamed!!!!
Abasi is probably the first guy since EVH to revolutionize guitar playing techniques to this level. The guy is just head and shoulders above all of his contemporaries. Selective picking/thumping/tapping who thinks of that and how???
Yeah this isn't hyperbole. He does something completely different with the instrument.
You ever see him play? It’s like he can play this while talking about metaphysics. Effortless playing.
@@brandonmalone5758 It's a great example of mastery
@@brandonmalone5758 yeah him just noodling while talking with Rick Beato is madness
Apart from his otherworldly talent and musical intelligence, he's a testament to effective and dedicated practice. You can tell the guy plays for hours upon hours, but to effective purpose, perfecting techniques and ideas and using those hours and hours to continue to improve.
9:24 10 years later still getting goosebumps from that transition
For me it's 13:24. That drop into the solo G's me up so much
@@ConnorHammond 10000% that transition after the solo to that fucking riff he plays…
Never clicked so fast in my life after the first post teaser
Was about to say the same !
same
fun fact, this track is from the first album, which was essentially a Tosin solo project produced by Misha Mansoor (the founder of Periphery). Drums were programmed.
This fact makes Garstka's drumming on this song when they play it live now even more impressive considering he's replacing programmed drums. :)
AND Garstka doesn't look like he almost dying while playing those songs, which is even more impressive. :D
I do find the drum timing very odd, there’s some snare hits that seem off. A bit disconnected like three musicians playing their own song.
Misha programs his drums to be playable by a real drummer. He doesn’t go crazy and write stuff that’s impossible to play because it’s not tasteful in the majority of cases. Misha understands that a person only has four limbs to play with.
I didn't realize that. Even more impressive
You have to give their OG drummer credit. Navene Koperweis is another underrated monster drummer that played this shit live, and also helped write drums for their 2nd album
Animals as Leaders is a 3-men band. No bass, no vocals. just 2 8strings guitar players and the drummer.
sometimes they record with a bass added tho, like with this song
@@Koivisto147 there is always recorded bass. the recorded bass track is used in the live backing track. On this album it was actually recorded with a guitar and pitched down though.
@@gus2n yeah, iirc the first album is just Tosin with Misha Mansoor of Periphery programming drums. Javier and Navene joined for touring.
These guys play chapman sticks?
@@juankshalonga7190 no. Previous Tosin had a signature Ibanez, he now uses his own brand of guitars! Abasi Guitars! I’m not sure what Javier is playing these days.
I love the way he tries to tell us stuff silently with gestures while he listens because he doesn't want to interrupt the song.
Fr even he didn’t want to stop it’s so beautiful
I don’t know about this band’s intention but a CAFO (Kay-foe) in the ag industry is an acronym for “confined animal feedlot operation”.
Along with the band name, it makes sense to me. Orwells Animal Farm perhaps
@@Haughaus from wikipedia: "The name Animals as Leaders was inspired by Daniel Quinn's 1992 novel Ishmael, which addresses anthropocentrism. Abasi coined the name as a reminder "that we're all essentially animals". I would have thought Animal Farm as well.
I have never enjoyed a reaction vid before. One day I was bored and decided to click on an Opeth reaction video. Well, I'm pretty sure I've seen every video since Harlequin Forest even if I didn't like a song or band you reacted to. Keep up the great work and thanks for all you do for the kids too!
Wow, thank you!
Reaction videos are good when the one reacting is giving professional input, or breaking it down I feel
Fun fact: the "bass" part and the lead tapping part you're talking about around the 4 minute mark is all the same guitarist at once. He's using an 8 string, using his left hand to tap the bass part, and playing the leading melody with his right.
Edit: here's a timestamped video of him doing it if you're interested: ruclips.net/video/j20pULM1-x4/видео.html
7 string
@@halsamuelson3820 Tosin primarily plays 8 strings. Although the original iteration of Cafo was played on a 7 string, so I'll give you that.
That blowed my mind. Dude those guys are completey insane. I just discovered them now, i regret i didnt it before.
@@samuelbalanin331 Enjoy man, I wish I could forget all about them just so I could listen to them for the first time again. Their stuff has radically changed how I look at music in general.
Just wanted to say you're probably my favorite react channel and the amount of depth you go into is amazing.
me too. i'm not a musician, but it's so interesting to hear these songs being broken down into their bare essentials in such a clear and concise way. it's really great stuff.
I love how he reacts and breakdown the musics he reacted on
Of particular note: the self titled AAL album is Tosin Abasi on all instruments, the drums are samples and programmed. This is literally more of a self recorded composition than a band playing the song.
Don’t forget Bulb’s involvement.
A great testament to this first AAL album is that you can hardly tell the drums are programmed
Tosin Abasi is in a track of Tigran Hamasyan's new album! Check it out!
Totally . That whole album is amazing
The song is called "Vortex" and is really interesting just like the rest of Tigran's music.
@@redshift912Like all of them! ahah I love "Ara Ressurect"
You should watch a live version of this. In that part where the "bass" part is in sync with the kick drum, the second guitar player (Javier Reyes) stops playing and gets the crowd to clap in unison to that part!
pretty sure this was recorded in an apartment with a line 6 pod on a gaming PC. lol
co-written with the main guitarist/songwriter of Periphery
Seriously? Source?
@@OvergrownWithTheMoss I remember hearing about the line 6 pod and gaming pc thing in an old interview with misha or tosin. AAL's Wikipedia says misha wrote some synth and overdubs and programmed some drum parts for the first album and produced it. Misha had a larger role in The Joy of Motion actually helped write a lot of the riffs and drum and synth parts, while Nolly helped write Tooth and Claw.
Don't forget to just listen to the drummer's right hand if you feel you're losing your place.
At least for the time when Matt wasn't in the band
Those are programmed drums on this album
@@cgafken I thought Navene Koperweis played drums on this album.
@@gielv97 Nah Navene didn't join until Weightless.
@@cgafken yes, but it seems dumb to say "listen to SD's right button" or some shit. Figure of speech.
I was lucky enough to get to see these guys when they were still openers. My first thought was "Why do they need 8 strings?". I quickly found out when they started playing. Might have been 10 years ago, before 8 strings became kinda normal.
"Why do they need 8 strings?"
- Top 10 Anime Plot-Twists of All Time
We gotta get a listen through of the brain dance by these guys. The mix on that is so damn good
I've seen them live a couple of times over the years. A truly amazing experience.
4:27
Sir, that clean sound is all Tosin. He's playing it all at once.
Also, if you like this band, you should check out The Glass Bridge and Cylindrical Sea. They have some more of that incredible musicianship, and the latter has some more of those INSANE sweeps you mentioned in this video.
This. Tosin is a beast with a bugged thumb that nature didn't decide to patch because he uses it well.
@@JoshStobart I have a near 90° hitchhiker's thumb and people comment on it, but that man could teach 5th grade math with that thumb... The only acute angle hitchhiker's thumb I've seen, and you're very right when you say he puts it to good use. Man's whole technique in the picking hand revolves around it, even his normal picking posture is unattainable to 99.999% of the population.
@@robadobflob3405 I have a 90º hitchhiker's thumb aswell. I had a brazilian guitar teacher for about a year that had an acute-angle thumb, kind of like Tosin's, but the guy had hitchhiker's... Everything. Every single finger of his bent back significantly with his hands outstretched. It was freaky, but the guy was an absolute beast at guitar.
@@JoshStobart he literally invented a new technique it’s crazy shit
Tosin has literally changed the way some people play guitar. Hes inventive in ways that I'll never understand.
Buuut, as a drummer, my love falls with Matt and his polyrythmic beastness!
"The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing" by Animals as Leaders is a great song.
4:38 If you're curious, Animals As Leaders alternates between using 7 and 8-string guitars (this song is a 7-string song). They have no dedicated bassist, however, they always have some kind of bass track going on in the background, sometime played by an actual bassist.
Animals As Leaders @ Brutal Assault live playing the Woven Web and CAFO is one of the best videos of them on RUclips. Matt playing CAFO on drums instantly improves this massively and they sound amazing live. Great react/review!!
everything off this Animals as Leaders album is amazing! This band was my first introduction to this genre. Thank you a lot for the reaction.. We love you
Rick Beato has interviewed Tosin Abasi at least a couple times on his channel. I could listen to him just talk music almost as much as I could listen to his playing. 😂
This track is from the first album and it's actually just Tosin playing everything, with his friend Misha Mansoor (of Periphery) producing the album, tracking the drums, and helping with compositional arrangements. Javier Reyes (their other guitarist) joined in when they began touring, and their current drummer Matt Garstka came on during their 3rd album.
I love how for most of this he just looks strained, like his brain is going to implode. You can see the universe behind those confused eyes.
LOL its true.
This is what I term "an accumulative track" In that its about the end riff , but that end riff is defined shaped and given context by how you get there (the rest of the track).
This is not to say its the only good bit of the track, but its for sure the stand out part. This band and Tool do this, you know its building to something, you are never sure what, but you know until that point you are receiving the foundation, or even something designed to juxtapose what is coming. Opeth also do that kind of thing. All 3 bands do it in different ways, but they all have that concept of building to a specific theme or riff that marks the climax of the track and it always feels like the destination (almost like root note in a scale) They create that tension across the track and resolve it with the final main theme. The main theme is always gold, but its made exceptional with the push pull tension release of journey, and it make the resolution so satisfying (sometimes they hint at the main theme, sometimes its played earlier in the track, sometimes not) I wish they had not faded the end
Awesome explanation bro
On impulse- animals as leaders please. It’s my stairway to heaven!!
Interestingly enough I believe that the drums for his album were actually programmed by Misha Mansoor, the guitar player from Periphery. They later found a drummer to join the band once they started touring.
Just wanted to thank you on not only these outstanding reviews but your breakdowns really help me make and improve my own pieces as I'm quite inexperienced with it atm, thank you so much man
saw them once and had my eyes glued to matt garstka the entire time.
This is the song that got me into animals as leaders. Such amazing musicians, Tosin is a god!
I love you so much man, honestly, you are probably up there as one of the most personable and knowledgeable reactors out there.
Always humble, always attentive, always open minded. It’s good to see this attitude twords a channel 👏🏻
Great song! Tosin Abasi is on another level when it comes to guitar playing and song writing. Definitely come back to Gojira eventually. Just put out a new song today!
yeah! i watched the new video. it's sweet!
Oh by the way, when they play this live they usually end it by having their human dynamo, Matt Garstka, creating a percussive meteor storm while they loop the rhythm riff in the background. Usually at the end of the show too.
Front row viewers have been known to spontaneously combust.
Garstka is such a beast!
Thanks!
might have been said already, but Tosin typically plays 8 string guitars , doing both bass and rhythm/lead parts. he also loops and plays over himself. The drummer that came in afterwards is an animal studio drummer basically kids a machine.
Also, I just wanted to add...watching you try to figure out the first two minutes of this....the look on your face!!! It was like you were impressed, angry, confused, and amazed all at one time!
keep it up Geebz! We love you man! Aloha!
You just earned subscriber. Loved the fact that you actually gave in-depth opinions instead of just staring at the screen. Absolutely awesome!
Believe it or not the lower notes that match the kick in the first section are from the lead guitar while also doing the tapping. Javier Reyes, the other guitar player, does a very subtle tremolo picking part during the second half of that section
Was waiting for that one!
Suggestions:
Unexpect - The Quantum Symphony
Diablo Swing Orchestra - Vodoo Mon Amour
Beyond Creation - Omnipresent Perception
Borknagar - Up North
Black Crown Initiate - Invitation
Native Construct - Mute
Kudos on Native Construct. Worst thing about that band is they only made 1 album
Oh man it's been a while since I saw Unexpected mentioned, god what a gem
You give new life to old music that wasn't fully understood. I love what you do and I wish your channel the best.
This is one of those songs where all of us remember the first time we heard this. We also remember introducing all of our friends to this. This the THE intro song to the progressive metal genre. Tosin is a freaking genius.
The part you were talking about with the bass sound lining up with the kick. It was one guitar doing both the low and tapping the highs at the same time in a polymeter. The second guitar is doing ambient work along with the pads.
I am so utterly impressed at the various bands you have reviewed. I NEVER would have expected to see you dive into Animals As Leaders, Protest the Hero, etc. Seriously kickass. Keep doing a great job!
About bass in Animals As Leaders, on their first album (which CAFO is from) they used pitch-shifted single guitar notes. Their second album Weightless was exclusively synth bass. The Joy of Motion, their third, has mixed synth bass and sometimes bass guitar (f.e. Lippincott, Tooth and Claw & Para Mexer - were played by their producer, Nolly). And The Madness of Many, their most recent work, I believe has both bass guitar and synth bass again, though fully played by Tosin/Javier (the guitar players)
My favourite AAL performance is CAFO and The Woven Web at Brutal Assault 21 metal festival
Just so you get more amazed, during the tapping that matches the bass kick, is done by the lead guitarrist as well. Left hand plays those bass notes while the right plays the higher melody.
2 years late here but definitely enjoyed your reaction of this track. Animals As Leaders is one of my top favorite bands and I'm definitely in that small category of instrumental listeners. your knowledge of music helped me understand more about music just in this video alone, and just discovered you too! You've gained a new subscriber thank you for the video!
Learning this on drums currently, great song!
Yes! Got my kit set up in garage and i wanna put my headphones with this track on and try to keep up.
Good luck
@@tcpowered13 emphasis on the word try
@@derricktipps9867 haha
I need myself an 8 string
AAL have so many great compositions. "Lippincott" comes to mind immediately - they have such a knack for establishing a killer motif and developing it over time. Definitely one of the most creative bands ever.
Love the analysis and excitement as usual!
I once read a comment that Animals As Leaders are making music for musicians. Only musicians would truly appreciate that kind of amazing music.
One of my favorite tracks of the past 10 or so years. Thank you for reacting!
This is probably mentioned elsewhere in the comments but at the time of recording this track (and the whole first album) 'the band' was just Tosin composing guitar & bass and the producer (Misha of Periphery) programmed the drums and additional arrangements.
I would love to see you breakdown more Animals. Check out Lippincott, The Brain Dance, and Tempting Time
Cool picks!
Tempting Time was my first exposure to AAL, I saw the performance Tosin did at Sweetwater some years back and I think that's an awesome way to introduce people to the band. When I first saw Tosin I had to pause it because I was laughing so hard, his fingers looked like spider legs or something, it was so unnaturally fast and fluid the way he moved around the fretboard was so unexpected that I had to pause it and regain my composure. To this day I've never seen any other musician be able to move their fingers the way he does. Everyone I've ever showed it to said something along the lines of "Wait, what!?". It's one thing to hear it but when you see the way he moves his fingers it's just...wow.
Now you need to react to AAL with Matt Garstka on drums. He's unbelievable. And Tosin is, well, Tosin. And Javier really keeps it all nicely molded together.
My man the utmost respect for you and the channel you´re running here... Haken is also a band you could check, i´d love to see that, gone through all your tools (die hard fan here) and now im checking the rest... Created a channel to give you this comment i love your honesty in the content. Covid free hug from islander to islander (Cuban here XD)
The Falling Veil by Elder! You'll love it, a lot to unpack.
Love starting the day off with some CAFO, gets the brain juice flowin
Suggestions:
Slice The Cake - Stone And Silver Part 1 - The Mountains of Man
Textures - Awake
Slice The Cake - Unending Waltz
Slice The Cake - Westward Bound Part I - The Lantern
Dance Gavin Dance - Blue Dream
Emarosa - The Past Should Stay Dead
Slipknot - Vermilion
AAL is one of my fave djent/ prog bands. They are insanely talented. Yes they have 2 guitarists playing two EIGHT STRING guitars. Tosin Abasi ( lead) is one of the ultimate talents in modern metal. Hands down top notch. It's amazing the HUGE sound they get with only 3 guys like Rush did back in the day. Keep it up Geebz. Check out Modem Day Babylon and Distant Dream and Widek for some other great bands
One of my favorite instrumental metal bands is Blotted Science. Ron Jarzombek, the writer of the music, is often times referred to as, "your favorite guitar player's favorite guitar player".
What I love about this kind of music is, from chaos, beauty arises, that is the way of the universe. Just look at the evolution of stars: from the chaotic turbulence of gas-clouds, a beautiful sun rises to nurture a whole planetary system.
You are the best reaction channel on here my guy. Being able to listen to a reaction like yours, referring to musician's trickery in playing halftime and such, keep it up! Also, haven't watched it yet but saw you uploaded a video on Danny Elfman. Yes. Absolute yes.
Cool thing, Nolly from Periphery actually did track bass for their earlier albums. I don't know if he was on The Madness of many but that's the story I believe. Also that clean part, that's all Tosin tapping before Javier comes in with the chugs. Good stuff, it's definitely music for musicians
Best live show I've ever seen. They're spot on.
been waiting on this one for a while!!! This is crazy.
You should have watched the video for the song. It helps a lot to see that Tosin is actually just playing everything lol. Also, the mix has a bass recorded on it. You can hear it pretty clearly, but it's heavily distorted to fit in the mix and not be overtly noticed, but felt.
One thing worth remembering is that while the band doesn't have a bass player as a member, they do record bass backing track. Im pretty sure that for this album it was Misha Mansoor from Periphery who actually helped with recording bass.
Since you are in an instrumental groove, check Soften The Glare: 'March Of The Cephalopods'. 3 piece with bass, guitar, and drums. The bassist is Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne who you did a reaction to their song 'Dig'
I really like your review here very intelligent soulful and articulate you are brother.
Yes! At it again! This will impressive you for sure! (Commenting before watching 😁)
Lippincott is another banger from Animals as Leaders, especially if you watch the video of the drummer playing it. It's fantastic.
Id love to see what you think of the band dance gavin dance - they have so much uniqueness and complexity in their work.
Awwright Geebz! Aloha and thank you for being an open mind. Most importantly, a spirit of joy in this journey!
Also I do want to note, they do record bass in on their albums. They run it through a backing track when they play live.
YUSSSSS PLEEEEEASE LOVE THIS BAND SO MUCH
Let’s thumb this up!!! This instrumental series is a great idea!
I'm glad you came back to this one in particular.
Hey man, absolutely love your analysis of and appreciation for the finer details of music. You acknowledge that they're masters of their craft but you don't let yourself succumb to amazement. Pretty awesome man.
Hey, I'm fairly new to this channel and just scratching the surface of you breakdown vids, and I'm loving your style and enthusiasm so far. It's cool to see an older generation with both experience in the music industry, and an appreciation for the art of heavy metal.
I think a band you might really enjoy is Mandroid Echostar. They're a newer group that only released their first full album a few years ago, but they are super talented and I can't wait to see more of them. A great song to start with from them is Ancient Arrows.
Keep on rocking dude!
Seeing them play this live was truly something else. Tosin (lead guitarist) uses a looper pedal to record the intro sweep arpeggios and continues playing double duty while pulling everything off flawlessly.
Great reaction, thanks! These guys are amazing on stage.
Woven web and brain dance are awesome, has more of their jazz side along with insane metal groove too in parts.
Favorite band for sure, Weightless is my favorite album lately
Everyone always gushes about Tosin but Javier is not only an LTD artist but an Ortegas Classic Guitars artist.
Yes, that's an 8 string classical guitar; No, it's not as unusual as you might think.
Javier also has his own project called "Mestis"
Ortega Guitars Artist Javier Reyes performs "Suspiro" with his 8-String Classical Guitar
357,890 views•Sep 23, 2016
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Ortega Guitars artist Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders performs classical guitar solo titled, "Suspiro".
This is the first of four videos with Javier Reyes
Ortega Guitars: JRSM-RWC Signature Series Javier Reyes 8-String Nylon Guitar
Suspiro - "this song is named Suspiro which translates to the word "sigh". The mood of song leaves wanting to take deep breaths either out of suspense and relief". Javier
MESTIS - MediaNoche (Playthrough)
338,372 views•Aug 26, 2020
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Guitar: Japan Custom ESP Vintage Plus 8 String
Pickups: Custom Dimarzio Strat 8 string pickups
Amp: Synergy Syn2, Pitbull Module
Neural DSP Archetype: Plini
Pedals: Bogner Harlow Comp/Boost, Empress Effects ParaEQ, Strymon Big Sky, Dunlop Echoplex
MESTIS is Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders
Dude, these videos have been such a pleasure. Please keep it up, i seriously get so excited whenever I see a new video is posted. Thank you for all the work you’re putting into these videos. Also, someone get this man some Scale the Summit, STAT
One of my favorite song of all time
Two of my favorite songs are instrumentals. This and Sleep Walk by Santo & Johnny. They both give me goosebumps every time.
Great reaction! This band is one of the biggest reasons that I got into this style of progressive metal. They are absolutely fantastic in both musicianship and composition. Now since you liked them I have to recommend the other band (or artist rather) that helped me get into this style. Chimp Spanner plays in this particular neighborhood of progressive metal as well although I would consider his composition style a bit more melodic perhaps more akin to that of Plini but heavier overall. The LP, At The Dreams Edge, from Paul Ortiz aka Chimp Spanner is simply a masterpiece from beginning to end. For a great introduction to the sound of this artist I would recommend either Supererogation or Under One Sky from the LP. These are great all around tracks that give a good a taste of what Mr. Ortiz does in his music. I hope you enjoy! Your reactions are always interesting and informative. Keep up the great work!
animalsasleaders are known for looping as well so that adds to the fullness of their sound
I was introduced to these guys at a live show in Boulder, CO. About half way through the show I turned around and saw the crowd. Nothing but musicians, standing perfectly still just watching every movement. Well, except those two girlfriends that were dragged to the show. Those two looked quite confused.