Band : Exotic Animal Petting Zoo
Album : I Have Made My Bed in Darkness
Release Year : 2008
Genre : Experimental / Progressive / Mathcore
Tracklist :
1. Seeds
2. Anniversary Psalm
3. Hairdresser
4. A Balloon Enters Kyoto City
5. Moonshoes
6. Every Waking Moment
7. Richard Dean Anderson | One is in Sheol, the Pit 4:3
8. a) Translations
9. b) Curse of the Sands
10. These People Refuse to Believe that the Lake is Bottomless
11. Ira Lore
12. Arendering
2. Anniversary Psalm
3. Hairdresser
4. A Balloon Enters Kyoto City
5. Moonshoes
6. Every Waking Moment
7. Richard Dean Anderson | One is in Sheol, the Pit 4:3
8. a) Translations
9. b) Curse of the Sands
10. These People Refuse to Believe that the Lake is Bottomless
11. Ira Lore
12. Arendering
Exotic Animal Petting Zoo is an experimental/prog/rock band from Crown Point, Indiana that was formed in 2004 by brothers Brandon and Stephen Carr. Their initial sound combines the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, and Sigur Rós.
Now...Where to start? I'll admit this is a tough one for me to express with eloquence that effectively catches the magnitude of this band's sound, so forgive me if I go a bit overboard at any time.
But there's something to this band, henceforth EAPZ for my keyboard's sake. Something organic and raw about it all - but then equally polished and layered on the other end. They intertwine a whacky blend of grind-ish metal-core ish riffs, rarely heading into the chugga-chugga breakdowns but keeping it ball-bustingly heavy all the same. Though they are not the epitome of any particular branch of music, they are exceptionally talented musicians in the departments they embrace, achieving a bending, mind-twisting, cat-and-mouse chase of semi absurd genre changes.
But enough with the convoluted descriptions. The instrumentation on this album is excellent and worth describing. The base mirrors some of the guitar's most complex and fast riffs like on "B) Curse of the Sands" or "Hairdresser", only to jump into Chili Pepper-esque funky riffs on tracks like "Every Waking Moment." At no points did I feel it was filler, and always audible. The guitar, I would say, is the backbone here. How Brandon Carr plays and sings (very well, at that) live is somewhat baffling - more so than when Thomas Erak of The Fall of Troy is faced with his most involved moments. The brutal thrashy passages on this album are paced in such a way as being reminiscent of Dillinger in their early days, and I'd even make the stretch of comparing the softer passages to the likes of Radiohead (vocally, and this is a loose comparison) or The Mars Volta. Those who take a listen will probably find room to disagree in this respect, as its decidedly difficult to find valid comparisons for this concoction.
But there's something to this band, henceforth EAPZ for my keyboard's sake. Something organic and raw about it all - but then equally polished and layered on the other end. They intertwine a whacky blend of grind-ish metal-core ish riffs, rarely heading into the chugga-chugga breakdowns but keeping it ball-bustingly heavy all the same. Though they are not the epitome of any particular branch of music, they are exceptionally talented musicians in the departments they embrace, achieving a bending, mind-twisting, cat-and-mouse chase of semi absurd genre changes.
But enough with the convoluted descriptions. The instrumentation on this album is excellent and worth describing. The base mirrors some of the guitar's most complex and fast riffs like on "B) Curse of the Sands" or "Hairdresser", only to jump into Chili Pepper-esque funky riffs on tracks like "Every Waking Moment." At no points did I feel it was filler, and always audible. The guitar, I would say, is the backbone here. How Brandon Carr plays and sings (very well, at that) live is somewhat baffling - more so than when Thomas Erak of The Fall of Troy is faced with his most involved moments. The brutal thrashy passages on this album are paced in such a way as being reminiscent of Dillinger in their early days, and I'd even make the stretch of comparing the softer passages to the likes of Radiohead (vocally, and this is a loose comparison) or The Mars Volta. Those who take a listen will probably find room to disagree in this respect, as its decidedly difficult to find valid comparisons for this concoction.
underrated as hell. One of the best record for 2008 (with Down I Go's Tyrant -you must listen to it if you don't already know-)
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