Review of Anima - The Daily Grind

Surely we must be near the end of the deathcore explosion. This year alone has seen a multitude of acts putting out debuts on big labels, with seemingly little purpose beyond sounding just like their best mate’s band. As with any trendy sub-genre reaching this point of saturation, not only is it getting increasingly difficult to tell one band apart from the next, it must be hard for those genuinely good bands willing to innovate and actually push extreme metal forward to avoid being swept away in the deluge. It may be a few years after the flood waters have receded when we’re able to sort the contenders from the pretenders. Today, we have Germany’s Anima, yet another band mixing Gothenburg gallop and lumbering breakdowns with youthful energy aplenty, competent playing and top-notch production values but not a shred of originality. So let’s weigh up the pros and cons.

In all fairness, The Daily Grind is an enjoyable enough album, mainly due to its brevity and the consistently high energy levels on display throughout. These guys are no slouches musically, and the extended soloing on tracks like “A Wrong Person to Trust In” is encouraging. Other songs that stick out are “There Is Something Vicious” that actually delivers on its title, “The Interference” which has a slight cyber-metal tinge thanks to some well-placed keyboards, and although completely derivative, “Isolated” drops the core significantly in favor of a more concentrated melodic death metal styling ala The Black Dahlia Murder.

So yeah, in the same way I enjoy a greasy burger once in a while as part of a balanced diet, a band like Anima is ok in very small doses. They won't keep you full for long, but are tasty enough going down. If you like your deathcore then you could certainly do worse, and these guys have a slick presentation that makes The Daily Grind easy to enjoy. Anima may be largely forgettable and generic at this point but their material is played with energy and enthusiasm, making them just interesting enough to not be a total waste of time.

Release Details

Anima

The Daily Grind

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