El nuevo camino del hombre

I'm honestly surprised that an album that went for imitating the kind of aggression that Burn My Eyes delivered and managed to do it decently exists. But, here it is, a fiery piece of Spanish-language groove metal courtesy of Argentina's A.N.I.M.A.L. that's thick, loud, dirty, punchy, everything that a decent groove metal album should be, and it makes for a satisfying release of anger with its crunch. As for A.N.I.M.A.L, El nuevo camino del hombre is their most pure groove metal album, with the previous albums mixing thrash and groove elements, and the later albums going down the disappointing path of nu metal. This album creates a nice aura of ferocity about it and makes for a strong series of pavement-pounding songs.

The first thing you'll notice when this album comes on is how much weight these guitars carry, how heated and low they sound. It makes the slower grooves feel thick-as-concrete with their impact and it makes the fast-paced thrash jolts feel extremely forceful. The drumming is very syncopated with just the right crashes and snares to punctuate the guitar grooves and add more impact. The vocals are also a mix of low, angry bellows interspersed with some gang shouts which make for a really thuggish and macho sound. It's belligerent, it feels great, it feels powerful, and there's a street-level grit to the grooves that make you just want to push and jump. There are even some Machine Head-esque guitar squeals on the song "El nuevo camino del hombre" that add to that grit and make it feel very mighty, especially as the word "VALOOOOR" is shouted out in a way that makes you want to yell along, like a rallying cry. This album wields it's agile Spanish vocal stylings and it's heated guitars like a pair of sledgehammers.

As I mentioned earlier, the title track is a solid display of groovy brutishness, but there's also the kick-throwing pit-starter "Guerra de razas" and the Brooklyn-style hardcore pounces in "Lo mejor de lo peor". A.N.I.M.A.L. make a series of pretty tight-wound and muscular songs with a lot on terms of energy and weight, even the token ballad "Lejos de casa" is very weighty, morose, and lumbering in a way that gets you to go along with it, especially with how the vocals and guitars both sway. That doesn't mean the other songs are slouches either, but these tend to show where the very best of the grooves and all around heaviest sound is. The thickness of the guitars and the amount of stomp in the riffs does a lot to give this album it's strength and the songs on it are certainly a treat.

This is the kind of album that makes for good listening on a hot, angry summer day, especially if you happen to be a fan of early Machine Head or Chaos A.D.-era Sepultura. It's the sort of groove that doesn't get marred down in plodding and keeps the ferocity going in its down-tuned assault. Sure, it may not be the most original thing out there, but for doing this kind of genre so well and giving us some songs with decent replay value and catchiness with this much aggression, I still see that as commendable. It's great groovy metal for unleashing your inner cholo and putting some fists to some faces. The burning tone of the music, the force of the riffs combined with the drum grooves, and the aggressive Hispanic vocal cadence give this album a lot of character.

A.N.I.M.A.L – EL NUEVO CAMINO DEL HOMBRE.

A.N.I.M.A.L is an Argentinean band that started out in 1993 playing a kind of Half-thrash music with modern influences, then in 1996 they recorded “El Nuevo Camino Del Hombre” which sounds like Sepultura´s “Chaos A.D” mixed with Brujeria´s most extreme offering “Machetazos”. To define this album I shall say that is 90´s Thrash Metal with Sepultura and Pantera influences, the album sounds very 90ish, like Biohazard, not the music construction if not how the instruments were tuned.

The starting track “Guerra De Razas” is the example of modern thrash with touches of groove metal; very fast and with a Biohazard type production, a chugging riff and consistent drumming. Next is the title track “El Nuevo Camino Del Hombre” that slows a bit the pace but maintains the heavy riffing and decent drumming. “Guerreros Urbanos” is pure 90´s thrash metal; aggressive, fast, not only Andres Gimenez sings, the bassist Marcelo Corvalan also takes the vocals at certain parts. The fourth track “Lo Mejor De Lo Peor” is a heavy mid tempo song with some hardcore type chorus. Then it comes “Pueblos Erguidos” that is another fucking modern thrash tune that starts with a bass introduction and then bursts into mediocrity. After that we arrive to “Lejos De Casa” which is a heavy ballad, not very good if you ask me and that’s how it ends the first half of the album.

“Sol” is a typical groove metal song, damn, they even sing like RAP. “Antes De Morir” is a mid paced heavy song with some soft interludes and average axe work. The ninth song “Amigos” picks things up and gives the album some more decency, it´s a good mid tempo with heavy riffs. “Alas” is another modern thrash metal song with fucking awesome drumming and cool riffs. Next is “Sabia Naturaleza” that incarnates another 90´s groove metal tune, this one not as fast but more standard. The closer is “Chalito”, you may discount this one as is a joke track with some idiot lyrics and a fucking Mexican type rhythm.

If you listen to this album carefully you will note that there are no guitar solos, the riffs and all the guitar work is very basic, Marcelo Corvalan´s bass lines are very deep, Andres Gimenez has a low pitch not very trained but yet still decent not like some other singers that should have retired many years ago. Finally Martin Carrizo’s drumming is the best thing on the album, accurate, hitting and truly pummelling.

Conclusion: This was their last album before they were produced by Max Cavalera and before they started to sound like Sepultura´s “Roots”, then Soulfly and now fucking mallcore.