San Francisco Death Metal band Animosity has received much acclaim for their tight and technical performance on their new album Animal. According to lambgoat.com, their album sets "the standard for what 'deathcore' should be." They are currently on tour with Between the Buried and Me and HORSE the Band and will be playing at the Palladium in Worcester, Mass. on Nov. 2. Daniel Ortner conducted a phone interview with lead singer Leo Miller.

justArts: Could you describe your music and vocals to the uninitiated non-Metal fan?

Leo Miller: The vocals are screaming and a guttural attack similar to a lion and bear. Our music is tech prog Death Metal-a dash of extreme with lots of notes and riffs.

JA: How are you different from every other band in your genre that have recently become popular?

LM: We pay less attention to mosh parts and breakdowns. Each riff is noticeable. We are a very different band. We are honest and real.

JA: What do you mean by honest and real?

LM: Our lyrics, for instance, are unlike most Metal bands. Our new album is about me and how I'm feeling. In the past our lyrics were based on real-world problems such as politics and religion. We are more grounded in reality than many bands in the genre.

JA: So why the change to writing personal lyrics?

LM: This is the first album I've written about myself. The last albums were all social commentary. Our new album, Animal came after a very difficult two years in my life in which my girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver. It was a major loss. I've been on tour ever since, and finding a comfort place is difficult.

JA: How else is the new album different?

LM: It's both more aggressive and angry and melodic at the same time. It has very original production by Kurt Ballou of Converge.

JA: You are touring with bands of a very different style and genre. How does it feel, and how receptive are audiences to your more aggressive music?

LM: Our last two were with Unearth and Terror and people were more interested in fucking things up. None of the other bands are aggressive, and we bring a diverse element. Fans are more interested in listening to every thing we do.

JA: What do you think about the current metal scene?

LM: It's bigger and more popular, but as far as the music, I'm much less interested in new stuff that is coming out. Some of my favorite bands, such as Dying Fetus and Cephalic Carnage, have been putting out disappointing albums. All these bands that changed my life went on to make shitty records. I want to be into Metal but I can't find anything refreshing.

JA: What new albums are you looking forward to now?

LM: I definitely want to hear the new Necrophagist and the new Messugah albums. The new Soilent Green should be great as well.

JA: What did you think of the new Between the Buried and Me album?

LM: I like it, but it's not my favorite one. Until they played the whole new album straight through live, I was not really into it. It still comes across as sort of contrived.

JA: Is there anything else you would like to tell readers?

LM: Check out the new album, Animal.



HORSE the Band is known for pushing the boundaries of musical genres. Although they have coined the label Nintendocore, they have received serious attention for their furious fusion. Their newest album, A Natural Death, continues to showcase a band continually reinventing itself. They are currently on tour with Between the Buried and Me and Animosity and will also be playing at the Palladium in Worcester, MA on Nov. 2.



justArts: I'd like to ask you about your band name. Can you explain where it came from?

Nathan Winneke: It's kind of anticlimactic. It was a morbid high school joke between the guitarist and the keyboardist. It refers in part to the severed head of the horse from the godfather.

JA: Could you describe to me some of the inspiration for your lyrics?

NW: I don't really like preach stuff. Our earlier stuff was more vague and whimsical. When I started it was influenced by a storytelling style.

JA: Where did the Nintendocore label come from?

NW: When I met the guys in the band, they were calling themselves nerdcore. I thought Nintendocore was a tongue-in-cheek way to refer to ourselves. It came from the sound of the keyboard, which sounded Nintendoish.

JA: Are you a videogame fan yourself?

NW: I played a lot when I was a kid. I own an old Xbox now but I am not a die-hard now.

JA: You are known to be a big David Lynch fan. How do his movies influence your sound and style?

NW: He seems like pure genius. My favorite movie is Mullholand Drive. You think you know what's going on, but it's so frickin' out there. It made me cry. I wrote a whole song about it on my first album. By reading my lyrics it's like watching one of his movies. I work on each line as if it's one scene.

JA: Do you consider fans' reactions when you write?

NW: I just entertain myself, never caved to what people do or do not enjoy. I just don't care in that respect. Every song I've rewritten like 100 times until I am happy with it.

JA: What are your musical influences?

NW: My first favorite song was "Monster Mash." I have that record now and play it on my little record player. I was just a little metal kid into Sepultura and Pantera. I sort of grew out of it and listened to lame music. When I discovered At the Drive In I felt in love with music again. They are so horrible and lovely at the same time.

JA: You are known as the leader of a cult called The First Church of the Mechanical Hand. Can you tell me a bit more about it?

NW: It's a combination of my beliefs, tying into the band's lyrics. The inner circle is exclusive and aware of everything. If all of our CDs were books about the world, that would be the world.

JA: What is your favorite live song?

NW: I like all of our songs. "Murder" is the new favorite.

JA: Your live set has been described as very intense. What do you do to get such a wild live performance?

NW: It's definitely not on purpose. Some nights it's not interesting, and on others it's ridiculous. Sometimes I'm downright hateful.

JA: How do you like the current tour?

NW: It kicks ass. Between the Buried and Me are good guys.