EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ANIMOSITY’S LEO MILLER
Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 4:00pm by Sammy O'Hagar
Animosity’s Leo Miller is not a man of large stature, which is why it was so surprising to see him command the stage like a rabid dog upon catching them on the Metal Sucks-sponsored Job for a Cowboy/ All Shall Perish/ Annotations of an Autopsy tour. Miller and company brought the sort of frenetic energy necessary to translate their last two stellar full lengths – Empires and last year’s Animal – to life, which is by no means a small feat. In a time when death metal bands rely on either predictability or shifting between riffs too rapidly to savor, Animosity jump from thought to savage thought masterfully, producing blink-and-you’ll-miss-it excellence reminiscent of old Dillinger Escape Plan through a DM lens. Their records demand repeat listens, and reward greatly upon them. Miller’s gruff vocals and atypical lyrical approach help elevate the band to thinking man’s level, counteracting metal’s brutish stereotypes.
I managed to catch him – after three botched attempts – on my way out the door after Job for a Cowboy’s set in Providence at the end of last November, and goddamn, I’m glad I caught him. He possesses the kind of eloquence and thoughtfulness an examination of his lyrics would imply, and it was interesting to get a glimpse into the thought process behind the gut-wrenching Animal, easily one of my favorite metal records of 2007, if not in the last few years. Despite the difficult personal events that lead to the album, Leo had a positive tone to his voice throughout our entire conversation, touching upon the band’s plans for the future and his feelings on our next president.
