ANIMALS AS LEADERS HAVE A “WAVE OF BABIES,” DINO CAZARES NOT INVITED

Tosin Abasi is undoubtedly one of the few guitarists in modern metal that I’d classify as a musical genius. I mean, there’s lotsa dudes that can play… but not very many dudes who can really play and who have a true, fundamental, natural understanding of the instrument the way Abasi does. Abasi is like that young hitter your team calls up from the minors, the guy who possesses the raw strength to smack a home run over the wall but who also understands and appreciates the nuance of the game, can hit curveballs, and can make adjustments to wily pitcher tactics within an at-bat (hey Ike Davis!). He’s that good.

I’m not sure how I missed the fact that his band Animals as Leaders has released a new single yesterday exclusively on iTunes called “Wave of Babies,” but there ya have it, as reported by SMN News. Since I luurrrrved Animals as Leaders’ self-titled debut album so much that I called it the 12th best album of 2009, this was an instant purchase for me (buy here).

The track was recorded with the album’s producer Misha Mansoor (of Periphery) shortly after the album was finished, and, whodathunk it, it’s a fucking monster with everything you’d expect from AAL — delicately-played clean jazzy interludes, thumping rhythms, crushing riffs, scorching virtuosic solos and plenty of mind-fuckery. Check out the below video of Abasi breaking down one of the guitar passages for you would-be shredders out there.

In other Abasi-related news, Heavy Blog is Heavy picked up a Facebook post by Born of Osiris — for which Abasi once filled-in on tour, stooping way below his level — indicating that the band just finished recording three songs with Misha Mansoor and may release them as an EP in “the coming weeks.”

Be sure to catch Animals as Leaders on this year’s MetalSucks-sponsored Summer Slaughter tour, the only major Summer package worth your full money’s worth, IMO.

-VN