Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California. Since 2012, the band has consisted of Tosin Abasi, Javier Reyes, and Matt Garstka (drums), having originated in 2007 as a solo project by Abasi. They are a prominent band within the djent scene. Prosthetic Records released the band's eponymous debut album in 2009. They have since released the albums Weightless (2011), The Joy of Motion (2014), The Madness of Many (2016), and Parrhesia (2022).
Oluwatosin Ayoyinka OlumideAbasi, is an American musician, best known as the founder and lead guitarist of the instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. He has recorded and released five albums with Animals as Leaders: a self-titled debut, Weightless, The Joy of Motion, The Madness of Many, and their most recent album, Parrhesia.
Animals as Leaders is the debut studio album by American instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. It was released on April 28, 2009 by Prosthetic Records. In 2015, a reissue titled Animals as Leaders – Encore Edition was released with bonus tracks.
Periphery is an American progressive metal band formed in Washington, D.C., in 2005. Their musical style has been described as progressive metal, djent, and progressive metalcore. They are considered one of the pioneers of the djent movement within progressive metal. They have also received a Grammy nomination. The band consists of vocalist Spencer Sotelo, guitarists Misha Mansoor, Mark Holcomb, Jake Bowen, and drummer Matt Halpern.
Periphery is the debut studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. It was released on April 20, 2010 through Sumerian Records, and was produced by the band themselves and Matt Murphy. Many songs on the tracklist had been written long before the release date—with some written by original lead vocalist Casey Sabol—but due to membership changes, the album was postponed on several occasions. Former vocalist Chris Barretto had nearly finished recording the album before he and the band parted ways months before its release. Rather than release the songs with Barretto's vocals, the band decided to rerecord Barretto's songs with Spencer Sotelo; however, Sotelo only re-worked a few of the melodies when recording vocals, versus writing completely new lyrics. As a result, Sabol's and Barretto's lyrics and vocal melodies and harmonies are still featured on the record. The album was re-released on February 6, 2012 as a 'Special Edition' including instrumentals, along with a new song "Passenger", originally recorded by guitarist Mark Holcomb during his time in the band Haunted Shores. This is the only album to feature guitarist Alex Bois and bassist Tom Murphy.
Djent is a subgenre of progressive metal, and an onomatopoeia of the guitar sound that characterizes it. Other defining features are its use of complex and heavily syncopated rhythm patterns. While sources such as The Guardian and Guitar World describe djent as a genre, some notable musicians including Randy Blythe and Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) say it is not.
Weightless is the second studio album by American instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. It was released on November 4, 2011 in Europe, November 7, 2011 in the UK, and November 8, 2011 in the US by Prosthetic Records. The album charted at No. 92 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart, as well as No. 7 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums Chart, No. 16 on their Top Independent Album Chart and No. 50 on the Top Current Digital Album Chart.
Misha Mansoor, also known as Bulb after the name of his solo project, is an American musician, best known as the founder of and one of the three guitarists in the progressive metal band Periphery. He is also a part of the projects Haunted Shores and Four Seconds Ago, and Of Man, Not of Machine.
Periphery II: This Time It's Personal is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. The album was released on June 29, 2012 through Roadrunner Records in Australia and on July 3 through Sumerian in America. It was produced by Misha Mansoor and Adam Getgood. It is the first record by the band to feature new members Mark Holcomb and Adam "Nolly" Getgood, replacing Alex Bois and Tom Murphy on guitar and bass, respectively.
Clear is the second EP by American progressive metal band Periphery. It was released on January 28, 2014 through Sumerian Records. This EP is an experimental work for the band: aside from the intro track, each member of the band composed a track and covered the role of creative director over that track.
Juggernaut: Alpha is the third studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. It's the first part of a double album, the second part of which is Juggernaut: Omega. The double album was released on January 27, 2015, by Sumerian Records. Juggernaut: Alpha debuted at No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Juggernaut: Omega is the fourth studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. It's the second part of a double album, the first part of which is Juggernaut: Alpha. The double album was released on January 27, 2015, by Sumerian Records. Juggernaut: Omega debuted at No. 25 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Matthew Wolfgang Garstka is an American drummer, best known for his work with instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders.
Periphery III: Select Difficulty is the fifth studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. The album was released July 22, 2016 through Sumerian Records, and was produced by Misha Mansoor and Adam Getgood. The opening track, "The Price Is Wrong", was nominated for Best Metal Performance in the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. It is the last album the band released on this label. It is also the last album to feature bassist Adam "Nolly" Getgood as an official member of Periphery before he left the band in 2017, though he still returned on Periphery IV: Hail Stan to produce, engineer, and mix the album, in addition to contributing final bass parts.
The Madness of Many is the fourth studio album by American instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. It was released on November 11, 2016.
Periphery IV: Hail Stan is the sixth studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. The album was released on April 5, 2019. It is their first album not to be released on Sumerian Records, as the band parted ways with the label in 2018. The album was independently released on the band's own label, 3DOT Recordings. It is also Periphery's first album since the departure of bassist Adam "Nolly" Getgood in 2017, though he still served as producer and performed mixing duties for the album, in addition to performing the final bass parts written by guitarist Misha Mansoor. The album also features live orchestrations and choir from the band's longtime collaborator and arranger Randy Slaugh.
Matt Halpern is an American drummer best known for his work with progressive metal band Periphery.
Parrhesia is the fifth studio album by American instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. It was released on March 25, 2022, by Sumerian Records.
The Illusion of Democracy is the only studio album by American progressive metalcore band Reflux. It was released on October 12, 2004, through Prosthetic Records. Live music videos were released for the songs "Above the Pyramid and the Eye" and "Single File to Bliss".
Lingua Franca is an EP by the supergroup T.R.A.M., featuring multi-instrumentalist Adrian Terrazas, formerly of The Mars Volta, guitarists Javier Reyes and Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders, and drummer Eric Moore of Suicidal Tendencies, with Kelela Mizanekristos and Sheera Ehrig providing backing vocals on several tracks. The group's sole release, it was recorded at Farias Productions in Los Angeles, California, and was issued in 2012 by Sumerian Records. The band name is an acronym of the musicians' last names.
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