Review Summary: Can you make a laksa without fresh turmeric, ginger, and lemongrass?
School holidays, the time when parents regret having more time with their children and teachers write music reviews with the oodles of free time, they get… Well, what of the new LP Meat we’re made of by French heavy metal rockers Animalize? Is it worth listening to or buying and can you make a laksa without fresh turmeric, ginger, and lemongrass?
The Animalize line-up-
Niels Bang – Vocals and Bass
Jessy Bosc – Guitar
Guitars Gabriel Rattlehead – Guitar
Damien Denetre – Drums
If you haven’t heard of the band, I wouldn’t be surprised as they only released their debut EP ‘Tapes from the Crypt’ in 2020. Meat we’re made of follows on from this first effort and is a blend of heavy metal and power metal influenced by Accept, W.A.S.P, Loudness, Riot, and others. The opener ‘Samourai de l’Univers’ is a fitting example of this, it’s blisteringly fast and especially reminiscent of Riot in their heyday. This song, like many others on the record is sung in French, which some people may enjoy, and we should all be open to listening to songs in other languages, after all doing otherwise closes the door on entire worlds of music. The bass is audible throughout the song (and album unlike many commercial bands) and plays a lead role in the bridge which leads into a wicked solo. The chorus of this song is like some of the others; a bit too corny for my liking, but the musicianship of the band makes it more enjoyable. The same can be said for many of the other songs and ‘Back From the Sematary’ is no exception. There’s a buoyant mood, fast tempo, nice melodies, and sweet licks on the guitar, but regrettably the ‘If However You Can Last’ is a weird interlude that doesn’t really serve any purpose except hint at the futuristic theme of the following song. And that brings us to ‘Eternal Second,’ starting off with a blistering speed, it holds much promise and indeed has a sick shred-tastic solo but also such an odd chorus that ruins the song. On the third and fourth listens it wasn’t as bad, but it’s one that sure to be hit and miss with listeners. It’s worth mentioning that the choruses on most songs are sub-par in my opinion.
And then that’s not the only questionable moment on the album, ‘Pigs From Outer Space’, has to be assumed to be a song about alien invasion, but with lines like ‘shoot the pigs from outer space’ and lame P, I, G chants at the fore it comes off as a bit too ridiculous for my liking. The next track comes just in time, as at this point some might be losing interest. There is really nothing original about much of the music and for some this may be a major issue, something that is hopefully considered for future releases. ‘Escorte Funèbre is a much more mellow song which, reading between the lines (and relying on translators) is about departing this world and whether there is an afterlife or not. This track brings a breath of fresh air to the record and features more feeling and a melodic shredding solo that fades off into duelling riffs from the two lead guitarists. ‘Saturday Night Witchcraft’ goes straight back to the forays into the power metal yet ‘The Witch You Are’ may have been better placed after the power ballad of ‘Escorte Funèbre to warm us back up to the lightning tempo of the other tracks.
The album finishes with a typical metal song about a divine being slaying humans in retribution or some such thing... It has a shadowy, cursed feel with enough speed to take you through the underworld and back in one piece.
Overall, it’s a strong albeit conservative debut, but I wouldn’t recommend it over the fathers of the aforementioned genres, like W.A.S.P and Riot. You can make a laksa without fresh ginger, turmeric and lemongrass, but ultimately, it’s still imitation, nonetheless I think the fresh ingredients are here, there’s just nothing new added to the recipe.
