A prophecy has been foretold of animals rising against humanity in a war for the ages. This war may have already begun. In the frigid North of the Yukon of Canada, The Animal Warfare Act has been locked away with no other option than to create their own breed of vicious music as The Doomsday Tapes. Although it was started as a solo project for band leader CuddleBunny, Corndog on drums, and Labrat on bass have been recruited to form the trio as it is now.
With a lot of modern metal, production value has been a focal point. Often this leads to overproduction, and causing the album to sound nothing like a live performance. The Animal Warfare Act wanted to capture the true DIY feel these bigger productions have been missing and have written, recorded, and produced The Doomsday Tapes, as well as created all promotional material, videos, and merchandise themselves.
The Doomsday Tapes starts off with ominous synth, and raw low-fi guitar on “The 666 Thesis.” The split vocals is attention grabbing, making this a solid opener. The single of the album, complete with an accompanying video (see below); “Glory Be to the Bomb” is massively influenced by the early days of black metal. The gain has been turned all the way up for this heavy ripper of a song. “Closer to the End Times” changes things a little. While still gritty and raw, there is a lot of fuzz and a great groove.
“Ophiolatry” gives a slight break from the heaviness thus far in The Doomsday Tapes. It has a creepy clown/circus organ and rattling rattle snake rattles. It is a great lead-in to “Hecate’s Trance.” There is an almost post-punk like rhythm, with a fuzz filled lead guitar. Just before the four minute mark, there is an incredible bass line laid by Labrat, that is not something to miss.
This is where the album takes a turn towards the darker side of things. “Unnatural Progression” is gloomy with an abundance of cymbals paired with eerie piano playing. Classic black metal style vocals screech out disgust towards the selfishness of mankind and its destruction of nature. The nine minute song has perfectly incorporated guitar solo, that isn’t too much and hits just right. Another change in sound is the Southwestern sounding “Con Fuoco.” The intro seems like it is going to be a version of The Eagles classic “Hotel California,” but when the lead kicks in for this instrumental, opinions change. “Con Fuoco” has a true desert vibe, solid groove and is like nothing else on the album.
To close The Doomsday Tapes, is “Ritually Unclean.” . This song has a chaotic intro, but shifts towards heavy riffs, and deeper growls. It punches its way through, until about half way where it mellows into a astral void with lighter guitar playing. The void only visits, as its right back into the heaviness from the beginning.
The Doomsday Tapes has The Animal Warfare Act pulling from several influences, and blending them into their own breed of viciousness. Raw, low-fi black metal, some doom, some groove, and some desert rock makes a sound fit for the agenda The Animal Warfare Act intend to follow. This album, while as a whole is great, is very bottom heavy. The back half is where everything really comes together. The Doomsday Tapes will be available September 18th on all major streaming platforms, as well as Bandcamp and Soundcloud.