November 28, 2017. It feels like a decade ago because of everything that has happened in 2020, but it hasn’t even been three years yet. Back then, I was still working at my previous job, with my ex and everything seemed to be going well up to that point. Especially when I got to see one of my favourite bands play at the Commodore Ballroom.

The band I went to see was Animals as Leaders. Animals as Leaders are an instrumental, metal band. I’d say listening to them is like listening to jazz mixed with progressive metal. It’s an odd combo, but it sounds awesome.

I first got introduced to them by an online friend back in 2015. When I first heard the name I thought they would be another generic modern metal band. But I was treated to something much better. 

The first song of theirs I heard was called “Mind-Spun”. Needless to say, it’s a trip to listen to. There’s a high pitch sound at the start of the song that lasts for about 25 seconds. Then the guitar becoming more and more present. Until everything kicks up a notch with heavy guitar riffs and hard pounding drums, which then leads into even more fantastic guitar playing by Tosin Abasi. And when the song has this very unexpected breakdown, I lost it.

It’s essentially a very fast bass solo, but here’s the catch. There’s no bass player in the band. I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it, but as I started to listen to them more and more, it was actually a trademark of their songs to have that sound throughout a lot of their songs. So when I saw that they were coming to Vancouver, I bought my brother and I tickets as fast as possible.

(@commodorevcr / Twitter) https://twitter.com/commodorevcr/status/1317540889519075339

This was my fifth concert with my brother and it was probably my favourite one. For various reasons. It was my first time taking him to a show I wanted to go to and it was at a venue I hadn’t been to before. I had known about the Commodore before, but I didn’t really know what to expect. And I was certainly pleased with the venue itself.

It isn’t super big, so you’re able to hear a lot of the sound even if you’re not in the front row. My brother and I sat on the balcony looking towards the stage and I thought it was the best seats there. Wasn’t too far away from the washrooms, close to the bar and the view was great.

The opener act of the show was a band called Astronoid. Astronoid is another metal band, but their music is rather atmospheric. They still had a heavy sound but wasn’t the same as Animals as Leaders. I still enjoyed listening to them though and I would recommend listening to them if you enjoy heavy sounding music.

(@DTvilling / Twitter) https://twitter.com/DTvilling/status/1061421252198440962

Then came Animals as Leaders. Considering they’re an instrumental band and tend to use lots of effects in their songs, I wasn’t sure how they were going to sound live. I was nervous for a moment thinking they would be a band that sounds great when recorded, but not as good when performing live. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

From beginning to end, they sounded great. Each riff was incredibly heavy, the solos were electric and the drums hit hard all night. There was even a drum solo at one point. My favourite part too was seeing all the people near me just being speechless with the way they performed. And when they played their most popular song “CAFO” as the encore. I was so happy. It was the perfect way to end the night.

If I had the chance to see Animals as Leaders again I would do it in a heartbeat. Easily the best concert I went to and the best $35 I’ve spent in recent memory. I couldn’t recommend them more if you’re a fan of metal music.

What was the last concert you went to? Let me know in the comments below because I’d be very curious to know about them.