WHAT BECAME OF: ANIMOSITY?

Animosity was that band back in the day that got signed before they hit puberty. There's always a band every five years or so that get major recognition when half the members haven’t even hit their teens yet. Often it’s due to a fad, a certain look or a member being ridiculously skilled but in Animosity’s case, they were just a good band.

SHUT IT DOWN
Animosity's debut Shut It Down was recorded when the majority of the band was in their early teens, fair enough it wasn't groundbreaking but I think any judgement can be left at the door considering the context. With that said the ten tracks on that album sound a hell of a lot better than the releases of many established bands today.

EMPIRE
On Empire, the band found their distinctive sound. It was a mix of pure speed, aggression and discordance. Bearing in mind this was released in 2005, many bands like Killswitch Engage were still riding around on the metalcore horse, where as Animosity were making music that sounds much more familiar in this day and age and although it may never have been recognised, they were trend setters. The band bumped into Guy Kozowyk of The Red Chord, who signed them to his Metal Blade sub label Black Market Activities. Off the back of Empire, the band was touring America with Malevolent Creation, Origin, All Shall Perish, Psyopus and this was before any of them had hit 20.

ANIMAL
Animosity’s final studio album Animal, seen a band at their peak. The rawness of Shut It Down and the technicality of Empire were toned to perfection and its clear from the opener of Terrorstorm that Animal is an awesome album. Produced by Kurt Ballou, the band now had an added groove to their music which rang reminiscent of more hardcore tendencies. This addition to their sound saw them touring Europe with Converge.



Then suddenly it was all over.

Here’s what Leo Miller had to say:

You have never seen us rest this long. For those of you wondering about Animosity, you are correct to have assumed that we disbanded. It has been nearly a year since all five of us were in a room (or the same state) together. In this time, we have written zero songs and played zero shows. In short, nothing happened which I mean to say plainly and clearly. We are all still alive and friends, but following our last tour we just did nothing band related. Many of us grew up in this band, and for me personally, Animosity was somehow prioritized over everything including my very own life. This band formed our communities, relationships, experiences and the lens through which we view the world. Eight years later, I look back to being 14 years old playing Animosity shows in garages and backyards and I can honestly say that our musical and experiential goals have been exceeded in ways that once seemed impossible to me. If you haven’t gotten enough of Animosity, please rest assured that we have.

So that explains it, at least there was no Animosity between the members though. (you get it?! trolololol) (no? ok then.....)

So what happened next?

LEO MILLER (Vocals)
Leo worked with Aaron Spectre aka Drumcorps, on remixed tracks from Animal, titled Altered Beast. The pair got along so well that Miller also recorded some vocals for upcoming Drumcorps music and did a short European tour with Spectre taking care of vocals and electronics.




CHASE FRASER (Guitar)
Chase currently plays guitar in The Taste of Blood and the better known Son of Aurelius. Son of Aurelius play modern Tech-Death very similar to a lot of other bands in that genre at the minute, notably Wretched, who the band are currently on tour with along side Last Chance to Reason. SOA have also embarked on tours with Cattle Decapitation, Knights of the Abyss and Whitechapel. Chase also plays guitar for Decrepit Birth but purely in a live capacity.




EVAN BREWER (Bass)
Brewer spent his time after Animosity as a touring bassist for A Life Once Lost and Terror. He also became involved in a project called Climaxes who are a big departure from the scene you would expect him to be in. Evan was recently named the new bassist of The Faceless, and was announced to have a solo album in the works as well which is due for release on Sumerian.




NAVENE KOPERWEIS (Drummer)
Does this man need an introduction?! After a short stint in Sleep Terror, Navene lifted the sticks for instrumental act Animals As Leaders. He also formed his own project titled Fleshwrought with Jonny Davy from Job For A Cowboy. The drummer preformed all music on the album, as well as taking care of the tracking, mixing and editing.