Dirty heavy metal seems to have a voice of its own, yet where should you go when looking for that musty distortion with more selections than the usual buffet? Here's an idea: Animal Mother's den. Born in 2001, these scruffy rockers will take you on a full-blown trip of crippling heaviness, and having been immobile since their No Rules LP. I can verify you'll be slammed to the floor by the relentless attack that's found on this sweet CD. So what else makes them so special? Well, when experiencing a disc like so, Animal Mother transacts one thing exclusively well: making your head nod in synchronized intervals, and dwelling in the general goodness No Rules offers will certainly make any naysayer concur decisively. Animal Mother engages itself in old-school metal that's essentially dipped in torturing sludge influences pleasurably, and with that being said, you can expect this album to feature its finest qualities: heavy riffs, smashing percussion, calm vocals, and strong rhythm licks from an active bass. Needless to say, it's spiced up enough so other flavors are internally felt also; this primary method in which No Rules is based leaves a solid impression of catchy metal packed with fun moments throughout. Coming off and performing sludgy metal at a time when bands like Down have already done wonders for the genre could seem redundant in the eyes of many, yet this record still manages to grasp enough velocity and might to warmly produce vast amounts of enjoyment.
Now gazing beyond Animal Mother's solid sludge, you'll notice how No Rules also accepts the southern-laden musical structure, which radiates through their thriving foundation viscously. Songs like "Keeper of the Flame" among others burn vigorously by tossing groovy jazz influences and nifty quasi-gruff vocals straight into the group's scorching fire without plaguing other notions or mindlessly fumbling around; it's a worthwhile addition overall on both conceptual and instrumental fences. The unambiguous vibe of the southern tint acts nicely as a pillow for Animal Mother to calmly fall back on whenever being mega-heavy isn't enough for patterns in need of diversity; in fact, they seem to cover that stoning layer almost impeccably alongside their natural state of being. Not bad at all!
In conclusion, it's practically transparent how successful No Rules is on an all-around basis; Animal Mother spread its power everywhere instead of one particular area, which aids this disc extensively. Sure you can easily pinpoint all those great instrumental sections and hooking choruses, but looking beyond Animal Mother's hunky-dory pigeonhole shows something even more desirable: their simple goal to just rock out. In not one instance will you detect these guys trying to spruce up a circumstantial sound or combine new musical atoms for whatever reason; they just like playing old-school metal, and sometimes that's really all one could ask for. No Rules unquestionably kicks ass, and I can guarantee you'll agree with the previous statement if bands like Down or Corrosion of Conformity are often enjoyed in your presence.