A big name for a big group, and I’m not talking about popularity points here. The Sound of Animals Fighting (TSOAF) is a collaboration of Rx Bandits, Circa Survive, Finch, Atreyu, Never Heard of It, The Autumns, Chiodos, Days Away, and Sunn O))) (simply pronounced sun). Whew, that was a mouthful. Anyways, their newest album (if you call May ‘06 new) is a dramatic shift from their old one. The previous and original CD was a progressive, post-hardcore mix with an opera-style layout. In Lover, the Lord has Left Us…, they decided to shake it up quite a bit with lots of electronic beats and foreign language for a completely new sound.

It’s hard to break down the album because it’s all so completely different. All of the bands come from different backgrounds and musical styles, but when combined together it creates a sound of beautiful chaos. With six different amazing vocalists (excluding the foreign singers), this CD is something to brag about. “Horses in the Sky” has a lot more energy and is definitely the more “hardcore” side of the band coming out; while “The Heretic” is the complete opposite. The rest of the album sticks in the middle of those two extremes.

Lover, the Lord has Left Us… is like a good cop/bad cop sort of scenario where they’ll kick your ass and then try to help you out. It’s a bi-polar, manic-depressive album with PMS. You never know what’s coming at you and once you figure it out, it stops being nice, and starts kicking dirt into your eyes.