Review Summary: Death metal upstarts show promise in this early release.
Animus Sadist is a band that's been one of the busy bees of the London extreme metal scene throughout 2012. Touring relentlessly they've eventually found the time to release their début EP "Ignorance, Their Greatest Weapon" in January 2013. And while perhaps a little messy it shows a lot of potential.
The extended play shows a mix of influence between technical death metal and deathcore, with a wide range of screams and breakdowns showcasing their core influence and technical riffs and shredding solos displaying a more technical influence. Slower passages are also explored, such as in the intro for opening track, "Redemption", which provides a nice build up before Animus Sadist go into overdrive, and shown throughout mid-tempo chugger "My Hope Wither's". Vocalist Jackson Packer puts in a particularly strong performance on this EP, showcasing a good range of screams between low growls and high shrieks (the latter he particularly excels at), and Joe Dutton's guitar playing is very impressive when the music gets on the more technical side, the solo in "Redemption" being particularly impressive. The rhythm section complements these two nicely although in some parts it can feel that the bass is somewhat lacking - a common problem in metal music. This release does hit its peak when it gets faster, and the title track and "Redemption" are the definite songs to check out.
One thing this band may need to look into doing is perhaps try to find their own niche within their genre. While well executed and a great listen it's not unlike many other bands in the scene, and in order to stand out Animus Sadist are going to have to find and extra dimension to their sound and perhaps rely a bit less on breakdowns - this isn't a criticism as such as, being a core aficionado I do enjoy a good mosh section - however they're so common in modern extreme music that it's getting harder and harder to create original and exciting breakdowns that really get the listener hooked. All that said, it's still an enjoyable release and clocking in at just under 20 minutes, it provides a lot of value for money (should you choose to pay, the album is available on a "choose your price" deal) and is worth it should you decide to help the band out by paying for the EP.
