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Animals As Leaders in Indianapolis

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Animals As Leaders
Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park — Indianapolis, IN
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About Animals As Leaders

Animals As Leaders is Tosin Abasi's instrumental progressive metal project that basically redefined what guitar-centric metal could be. Starting as a solo endeavor in 2007, the band evolved into a full unit with bassist Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, creating some of the most technically demanding and rhythmically complex music in modern metal. Their self-titled debut introduced a sound built on extended-range guitars, polyrhythmic foundations, and zero reliance on vocals—just pure instrumental storytelling. Albums like "Weightless" and "The Joy of Motion" cemented them as the thinking person's metal band, pulling equally from jazz fusion, prog rock, and metal traditions. Tracks like "Cafo" and "An Infinite Regression" showcase their ability to balance inhuman technical precision with actual emotional weight. They're the kind of band that makes you realize how limiting conventional song structures are. Their influence on progressive music over the last 15 years is hard to overstate.

Animals As Leaders shows are dense, focussed experiences. The crowd tends toward musicians and serious listeners who actually track the time signatures. There's an intensity that comes from watching people execute this level of technical material live without a net. Energy builds through precision rather than spectacle.

Known for Tempting Time, An Infinite Regression, The Brain, Cafo, Lippincott

Animals As Leaders + Indianapolis

Animals As Leaders played The Vogue in Indianapolis on May 7, 2017, with a 13-song set that leaned into the Madness of Many era. Arithmophobia and Cognitive Contortions opened the newer material, while Tempting Time and Ka$cade represented the earlier catalogue. Backpfeifengesicht -- a track whose title alone is a commitment -- landed well in the middle of the set. They closed with the inevitable CAFO, preceded by Inner Assassins and The Woven Web. The Vogue is a great room for this kind of music, where every note needs to land precisely.

Animals As Leaders in Indianapolis News

Live Music in Indianapolis

Indianapolis has a solid metal foundation built on venues like The Emerson and Vogue, though the progressive and technical side tends to orbit toward Chicago and Detroit. That said, the city's music community has shown genuine appetite for complex, guitar-forward music. Animals As Leaders represents something Indianapolis doesn't see often enough: virtuosic instrumental rock that demands active listening rather than passive background noise.

Indianapolis road trip to see Animals As Leaders?

Stay in Fountain Square, the neighborhood with actual character—tree-lined streets, galleries, and the kind of restaurants that don't need to try too hard. Dinner at Bluebeard is the right call: meticulous food, interesting wine list, the sort of place that respects both craft and restraint. Spend the afternoon at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is legitimately excellent and free. Walk around the Canal, catch whatever's happening at the Vogue or Murat depending on the venue, then hit Mass Ave afterward for drinks at a place like Chatterbox or The Rathskeller. It's a short trip that doesn't feel rushed.

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