Search - Sound of Animals Fighting :: Tiger & The Duke

FINALLY IT IS RE-ISSUED!!!!! No more crappy bootleg....

William A. Barker | Hawthorne, NJ USA | 08/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Just so everyone knows I will only give 5/5 to an album overall if it is just amazing throughout, is breakthrough and just will not leave my cd player for weeks at a time. However I will give 5/5 much easier for individual songs if they are great!



The Sound of Animals Fighting (TSOAF) is a band that was shrouded in mystery when I first found out about them years ago. I saw a tiny photo in Alternative Press of a bunch of dudes in animal masks and a description beneath telling a tale of artists going against recording contracts to make a side project and wearing masks to conceal their identities...how much of that is true I don't know but it has come out who actually is in the band years later names such as: Anthony Green (circa survive, saosin) and Craig Owens (Chiodos) as well as members of the RxBandits, Days Away, and Finch each taking on the nom de plume of a particular animal (IE: The Skunk).



I got Tiger & Duke a few years ago (2005) two years before its Equal Vision re-issue after I heard comparisons to the Mars Volta thrown around amidst my circle of friends the comparisons are understandable but there are many differences as well. Anthony Green brings both old style Saosin screaming/singing as well as some clean vocals more towards the Circa Survive Sound but he is brilliant on this album along with the other vocalists who do a wonderful job as well. The four core songs on this album are in Acts I-IV and these songs are all amazing in their own ways. Between each track is an interlude and there is also an intro none of which I will be reviewing here. I gave this particular version of the release 4 stars due to the fact that I feel the bonus tracks take away from the albums overall cohesiveness that was intact on the original demo version. The remixes are strange and not as appealing as I would have hoped for and believe me its not because their experimental I'm definitely into that type of stuff but these are just lacking something I don't know and many are from their second album and I don't see their relevance to this release which came before it. As my title states its nice to have this amazing album re-issued after two years and I must say the restored sound quality is a breath of fresh air and only makes Tiger & Duke BETTER though the original demos still have their charm & mystery to me. Given the fact that the original version is out of print this is your only option so I won't tell you not to buy this version and plus the quality of the original 8 tracks is much better so that alone is worth the money. The live version of Horses in the Sky is AMAZING!



Act I: Chasing Suns: this song is amazing from start to finish and is the strongest track on the album 10/10

Act II: All is Ash or the Light Shining Through It: AMAZING! 10/10

Act III: Modulate Back to the Tonic- love the beginning of this track there is spoken word reading going on with some singing behind it and then the song just picks up and next thing you know Anthony Green is singing: "We're hanging from our ankles..." and the song just picks up from there going back into the spoken word/singing part between....

Act IV: You Don't Need a Witness: this track starts out like its going to be Chasing Suns all over again it has nearly the exact same beginning but instead of Mr. Green's screams the instrumental plays out and then it becomes its own unique track. I like how they brought the theme to a close with the sounds of the first track appearing on the last track pretty cool. Lots of screaming on this one! It's glorious! 9/10



*Bonus Tracks



13. Un'aria Elettronica (Technology): this one just doesn't do it for me...the drums are so repetitive and fruity loops sounding. 2/10

14. My Horse Must Lose (Portugal the Man): I dig this one its very calm and is different enough from the original to be separate but not so out there and remixed that it isn't recognizable. 6/10

15. De-Ceit (Portugal the Man): this track is okay...has good singing (a bit distorted at times) but the song never really goes anywhere... 5/10

16. This Heat In Dub (Technology): pretty boring but listenable 5/10

17. Skullflower: Sorcerer's Mix (Portugal the Man): begins with the Sanskrit vocals of the first track has a funky beat, Anthony greens vocals come in after awhile of just the beat playing but they have some effects and are only played sporadically. Overall its pretty weak 6/10

18. Horses In the Sky (Live Version): VERY COOL must have been taken from one of their only four live shows as a group has more flare than the original and I really like the original so that says a lot, the drums are SICK! Nice guitar solo too! 10/10

19. St. Broadrick, His Mistress, And the Blacksmith (The Optomist): Exclusive track to this re-issue. Pretty cool track with a basic drum loop that changes slightly and some great male/female vocals. 7/10

20. The Heretic (Evol Intent): this is a wonderful track to begin with so I don't see how anyone could screw it up by remixing it however it is inferior to the original it can stand on its own as a decent remix. I would throw it on a mix cd for sure. 7/10

"

Experimental Pefection @ last! Yes!

Myxomatosis | USA | 03/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"....Bad reviews for "Lover..." good reviews for the re-issue...???? what the..,? thats all I have to say...if you thought Lover was bad, and u think this is awesome than I think u dont have the same ears as other people...this album is far more experimental than the previous (combining two previous albums as a re-issue...per genius....they've been taking tricks from none other than what the beatles started



I dont think this is "bad" by any means....I reviewed "Lover..." calling it "close to experimental perfection"...which I happen to think this album is....



The balls of TSOAF...the balls....seriously, who else is going to produce such an insane album?....no one, thats who...20 tracks of beautiful discord...I dont even understand the purpose for some of them...a la ...the four interludes...



The brillant aspect here is that these songs arent merely "rehashed" so to speak...if you loved the songs on "Lover..." (which i do) than you'll enjoy the fresh new outakes of these songs...The anticipation of these songs may have lead to why I gave the album such a high score...I enjoyed "Lover.." alot...but, there are so many different listening experiences here it is uncanny....from dub, to jazz, to electronic, to rock...all beautifully transcending one another...like i said....the beatles started a trend that most bands for some reason havent caught onto...molding genres "can" and "is" a wonderful thing"