The joy indeed

The bass-less trio are back. With every release, I have to say these chaps know what they are doing but this one is a little undoing so to speak. I'm not one to acknowledge the existence of this genre called djent. There is no djent, on Meshuggah & the music thereafter. It's metal dwelling in odd tempo intelligence, that's what is is. The Joy of Motion moved away from the djent domain to manifest some lethal prog prowess. It's proving that Animals as Leaders are fine musicians in their own right. There is no denying the fact that the music here gravitates towards metal more than anything else but everything is kept tasteful.

The band also moved away from technicalities as their staple. We can hear very careful arrangements all over the songs with no compelled taps & sweeps to prove a point. The ardent fans can sit back & appreciate the music & acknowledge the band's fine moments in music while the newbies here wouldn't be averse to the brand of instrumental music peddled by this trio. In fact, I believe new listeners would be intrigued to discover the older materials to experience the other Animals as Leaders, the ones who were uncomparable when they first unleash their music to the world.

Guitar-wise, do not look forward to a fresh set of tones, we can still hear Abasi & Reyes' Factal at work. Despite being without an individual to propel real bass notes; listen to how the band layered clean tones to make sure we don't start by asking where the bass is. It's sheer intelligence.