Caninus Now the Animals Have a Voice
War Torn Records - 2004
By Katalin Sipos
We dont usually ask readers to consult a manual before going through a review, but in this case I feel the need to do so. Thus, dear reader, please consider the following when deciding to peruse this article. First of all, if you dislike animals, especially dogs, you might as well stop reading immediately. If you have no sense of humour and irony, you can also return to the main page. Besides, it is advisable that you feel affiliated with grindcore music; moreover, you receive extra scores for being a vegetarian. And last but not least, please note that this article is written by a particularly biased listener. In case you meet the criteria and accept the conditions listed above, feel free to read on. Otherwise I suggest you check out our archives.
This unusual introduction is meant to reflect the bizarre Caninus LP, Now the Animals Have a Voice. The five members of the Brooklyn band altogether have fourteen legs, since two of them, that is, the singers, are pitbulls, who contribute to the music with their growling and barking. So lets see in a bit more detail who Caninus are and what theyre up to these days.
The three human members of the band are ardent vegetarians and dedicated animal activists. They met their present vocalists at a dog shelter, and decided to work with them. Consequently, the lyrics are written from the dogs' point of view. To really appreciate these words, you need quite some sense of humour and irony, as well as empathy. As for me, I very much enjoyed Basil and Budgies introduction, while having Odin lying at my side. Of course this debut is not only about beautiful and romantic animal success stories, since the lyrics also give a sense of what it may be like to have a shelter pedigree entry in your biography. Most of the songs present the theme of human irresponsibility and cruelty towards animals. As I myself have been cohabiting with a pitbull for several years, Im learning more and more about the character of this breed, so as far as pitbulls go, I can fully agree with what Caninus express in their songs, while their general ideas should be considered by all bipeds who decide to keep pets.
Musically, Caninus are a versatile band. Some of their tracks are rock n roll or traditional metal songs, although most of them are predominantly of the superquick grindcore variety, or even a mixture of all of these. Brindle Brickheads, for example, is a hardcore-inspired song, except for the doom-like, melancholic part, which gives it a break. The following Bite The Hand That Breeds You is a death metal track, after which we have a short intermission in the form of Studio Guy Gets Pissed. From the title you may already have a more or less accurate idea of what might have happened in the studio, although the lyrics suggest that it was more like a much-ado-about-nothing situation. Fear Of Dog (Religious Myths) is reminiscent of Nile (save the annoying sound of the drum machine), and next comes New Yorkie Crew (Loyal Like A Stone), which gives the LP a hardcore impetus again, with a pinch of rock n roll. The following No Dogs, No Masters is a proper grind track.
In spite of a grindcore predominance, the band was careful to write catchy and varied songs. The only major negative aspect of the album is that they have no drummer, so they used a drum machine, which can be quite annoying at times. However, Id like to draw your attention to Human Rawhide, where the vocals are developed to perfection: both dogs feature on the track, one of them barks, which sounds like hardcore shouting, while the other one replies to these shouts with death metal growls. The LP has a great spectrum of howls, growls and barks, perfectly edited and mastered, so beginner extreme death metal vocalists might consider getting the album just for the sake of these sound samples.
All in all, Now the Animals Have a Voice is a shocking and unique album. I know the band wont be able to save the worlds animals with this record, and most probably many people will find it only a very good joke, even though they should rather listen to and think about what Caninus are trying to say.
10/10
Official War Torn Records website
Official Caninus Website
War Torn Records - 2004
By Katalin Sipos
We dont usually ask readers to consult a manual before going through a review, but in this case I feel the need to do so. Thus, dear reader, please consider the following when deciding to peruse this article. First of all, if you dislike animals, especially dogs, you might as well stop reading immediately. If you have no sense of humour and irony, you can also return to the main page. Besides, it is advisable that you feel affiliated with grindcore music; moreover, you receive extra scores for being a vegetarian. And last but not least, please note that this article is written by a particularly biased listener. In case you meet the criteria and accept the conditions listed above, feel free to read on. Otherwise I suggest you check out our archives.
This unusual introduction is meant to reflect the bizarre Caninus LP, Now the Animals Have a Voice. The five members of the Brooklyn band altogether have fourteen legs, since two of them, that is, the singers, are pitbulls, who contribute to the music with their growling and barking. So lets see in a bit more detail who Caninus are and what theyre up to these days.
The three human members of the band are ardent vegetarians and dedicated animal activists. They met their present vocalists at a dog shelter, and decided to work with them. Consequently, the lyrics are written from the dogs' point of view. To really appreciate these words, you need quite some sense of humour and irony, as well as empathy. As for me, I very much enjoyed Basil and Budgies introduction, while having Odin lying at my side. Of course this debut is not only about beautiful and romantic animal success stories, since the lyrics also give a sense of what it may be like to have a shelter pedigree entry in your biography. Most of the songs present the theme of human irresponsibility and cruelty towards animals. As I myself have been cohabiting with a pitbull for several years, Im learning more and more about the character of this breed, so as far as pitbulls go, I can fully agree with what Caninus express in their songs, while their general ideas should be considered by all bipeds who decide to keep pets.
Musically, Caninus are a versatile band. Some of their tracks are rock n roll or traditional metal songs, although most of them are predominantly of the superquick grindcore variety, or even a mixture of all of these. Brindle Brickheads, for example, is a hardcore-inspired song, except for the doom-like, melancholic part, which gives it a break. The following Bite The Hand That Breeds You is a death metal track, after which we have a short intermission in the form of Studio Guy Gets Pissed. From the title you may already have a more or less accurate idea of what might have happened in the studio, although the lyrics suggest that it was more like a much-ado-about-nothing situation. Fear Of Dog (Religious Myths) is reminiscent of Nile (save the annoying sound of the drum machine), and next comes New Yorkie Crew (Loyal Like A Stone), which gives the LP a hardcore impetus again, with a pinch of rock n roll. The following No Dogs, No Masters is a proper grind track.
In spite of a grindcore predominance, the band was careful to write catchy and varied songs. The only major negative aspect of the album is that they have no drummer, so they used a drum machine, which can be quite annoying at times. However, Id like to draw your attention to Human Rawhide, where the vocals are developed to perfection: both dogs feature on the track, one of them barks, which sounds like hardcore shouting, while the other one replies to these shouts with death metal growls. The LP has a great spectrum of howls, growls and barks, perfectly edited and mastered, so beginner extreme death metal vocalists might consider getting the album just for the sake of these sound samples.
All in all, Now the Animals Have a Voice is a shocking and unique album. I know the band wont be able to save the worlds animals with this record, and most probably many people will find it only a very good joke, even though they should rather listen to and think about what Caninus are trying to say.
10/10
Official War Torn Records website
Official Caninus Website
