If there was such a thing as a death metal detector, San Francisco's Animosity would not make it through baggage check. The death metal/progressive band's performance at Soma on Sunday was, to the ears of a metal lover, probably the best thing that has ever happened to the band. However, to someone who doesn't really appreciate hardcore or metal music, let alone something as frantic and frenzied as death metal, you might find yourself making the same face you would when taking a bite out of a lemon. Its seven-song set was mainly tracks off its 2007 debut, "Animal," packed with enough metal to make even Iron Man blush. After its explosive opener, it moved on to its hit single, "Tooth Grinder:" a detonation of high-speed blast beats and breakdowns accompanied with vocals comparable only to the Agony Scene's Mike Williams or "Good Smeagol" from "The Lord of the Rings." After the most intense four minutes you might ever experience in your life, other fan favorites, such as "Operating From the Ditch" and "The Black Page," were deployed upon the audience. The only break from the monotonous formula of screams and rushed drum beats was in the latter, which featured an exceptionally lengthy breakdown preceding the end of the song. With a dissonant guitar lingering the entire time, Animosity's real talent showed for once as it executed something as rhythmically awkward as something only bands such as Between the Buried and Me and August Burns Red have been able to pull off in live performances. For the last two songs of its set, it played two more tracks from its older album, "Empires," and one more from its most recent one. The first of the two, "Commoditism," is a rant on American consumerism buried beneath the screams of frontman Leo Miller. To the untrained ear, you'd think their talent ends with their unconventional displays of musicality - you could be wrong. With lyrics such as "Sufficiency is a dream/The modern perception of adequacy is a f---ing disgust/Desire is an infinite void without borders that can never fulfill the eternal lust/If only we could see the boundaries/Perhaps we would be able to draw the line to separate what we truly need" you'd probably re-evaluate what you previously thought the intelligence level of metal bands was. The band's final number, "You Can't Win," was the same old technical guitar riffs and frenzied meter changes, but this time it's coupled with the incredibly depressing lyrics of a failed relationship. The only good part is that it's only depressing if you read the lyrics beforehand - if you don't, it's pretty much impossible to understand the singer, so you'll have nothing to worry about. All in all, the only thing really setting Animosity apart from the sea of borderline inaudible death metal bands is pure talent, and there couldn't have been a better place to prove it than at a live show.
LIVE AND DANGEROUS: Ill will for Animosity at SOMA
Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Updated: Sunday, October 12, 2008
 "Photo: Courtesy of Chris Corrado")
Courtesy of Chris Corrado
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