Review Summary: "Lover, The Lord Has Left Us..." is a rollercoaster of good and bad moments with a new twist to listening to music. Unfortunately, they do a poor job of collectively collaborating throughout the album.
‘Who was that band you played in the car? The Sound of Animals Dying or something?!’ No, I told my friend, what we listened to was the progressive/experimental group known as The Sound of Animals Fighting. Members included are from such acts as Circa Survive, Rx Bandits, and Chiodos. Following, Tiger & The Duke, I felt that they would build off their dynamic debut. Instead, they took a completely different approach, far away from the progressive aspect and more towards an experimental feel. Using beats from random objects to a Neurosis song, they tried to revamp their style. Unfortunately, they load the album with too much of content that plagues the record in a not-so-cohesive manner.
Essentially, on Lover, The Lord Has Left Us…, there are seven filler/intro/outro tracks. That is seven tracks too many. The first of which is a noise intro with random and jazzy horns with static. Next, we have, “Un’aria,” which a vocal performance by Craig Owens. He graces our presence again later on the record in another vocal performance, “Un'aria Ancora,” which is equally cheesy. “Chiracho Summit” is a spoken poem with feedback, different loops, and static effects added, making a disturbing sound presence. While the poem has some beautiful things to say, it is not exactly pleasing. They continue with the white noise with a song that is similar to the last track, named, “The Golden Boy That Was Swallowed By The Sea.” Ugh, no words. But it is not all bad.
While there are many elements that make this album a complete abomination, other portions shine. “Horses in the Sky” provides a progressive rock chorus with a completely wild verse with weird rhythms and random effects that positively add to the song. Regardless, whenever “Horses in the Sky” is played, the chorus and the guitar solo are my weaknesses. It is a feeling that is unexplainable but has a majestic feeling of triumph and power that completely takes over. On a different note, “Stockhausen, Es Ist Ihr Gehirn, Das Ich Suche” is a compelling song to say the least. It begins with what almost sound like kitchen utensils and then it slowly transitions into a piano and guitar section that is quite elegant and classy. Completed with harmonics and a very pleasing piano, it is a relaxingly odd track.
After twelve tracks of a constant love and hate relationship, the most complete song comes out of left field, “The Heretic.” For once on the record, a song that flows, transitions beautifully and is hardly irritating. The lyrics are clear and the string accompaniment in the background layers the song with awe and an aura. Meanwhile “This Heat” slowly paces into this flowering gem, but acts bewildered towards the end. In addition, during this song a particular lyrical phrase caught my eye.
Waste of life, feel the music change your mind
Where's your body, where's your soul?
Now this can imply that people should be more accepting of music such as this
Lover, The Lord Has Left Us. The last track, “There Can Be No Dispute That Monsters Live Among Us,” is a key example, but tries too hard to express the meaning of this album. The band tries to shove the fact that they are playing experimental music down your throat. Completely unnecessary.
However, the lyrical verse that was the most intriguing throughout this whole experience was during, "Stockhausen, Es Ist Ihr Gehirn, Das Ich Suche," when I hear, ‘Maybe I'm just not ready.’ It is probably true; I may not be ready for this record. While there are some great tracks, it is too inconsistent as a record. The Sound Of Animals Fighting need to collectively learn about to how produced a record that flows from track to track. They accomplished it during Tiger & The Duke with every song having a break between, but that was still a bit much. While it has grown on me from the initial listens way back when, it is still not solid. Regardless, there is a level of respect for what they are trying to do. While excessive at certain points, there are pleasing aspects to be enjoyed and embraced. I will admit it a completely new sound to me and could go in a great direction, but as I stated before, maybe I’m just not ready.
