Review Summary: A lesson you'll never forget
You will no doubt think Exotic Animal Petting Zoo sounds like one of your favorite bands. The Dillinger Escape Plan, Deftones, Fear Before, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, BATS, The Mars Volta, Failure, Converge, The Blood Brothers; all these bands that seem to elicit comparisons toward Exotic Animal Petting Zoo. However, the band name gives a big hint to the listener, as Exotic Animal Petting Zoo gathers the sounds of the most beloved bands in the larger -core scenes and not only displays them but crafts them into an entirely unique beast of its' own. If I had to narrow down their sound to a single genre, I'd say mathcore but even that does the album a disservice because so many genres are pulled from.
I Have Made My Bed In Darkness is creatively layered with a variety of styles that would capture the attention of even the most jaded listener, as it effortlessly sounds technical while retaining an evident fun factor. The album never stumbles from one idea to another, instead sliding into verse after verse, line after line like a twisting roller coaster swaying you through an always contorting track. You wont find any standard songwriting structures;
I Have Made My Bed In Darkness eschews things like repetitive choruses and obvious verses altogether focusing more on things like buildingÂ* surrealist atmospheric songs such as the albums highmarks
Every Waking Moment or
These People Refuse to Believe That the Lake is Bottomless. Both songs highlight some of the best writing on the album between the more slower, somber buildups juxtaposed against frantic outbursts of energy that swell into a climatic crescendo. This is all without touching on this mysterious aura surrounding the songs aided in part by peculiar, almost occult lyrics indicating something more dwelling under the surface. The album is just a masterclass of ingenuity, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear someone having several favorite moments just in the same song.
I don't want to understate how talented every single band member is either, and with such a great mixing job everything is pronounced enough to be properly appreciated. The singer has terrific range and uses it often, and the harsh vocalist has great presence without commanding enough of a songs runtime to become mundane. The electronic components add an extra dimension that couldn't be carried by the drumming or guitar licks alone. Every instrument is incorporated in ways that add to the benefit of the experience leaving nothing superfluous. If you're a musician you will find something to appreciate here if not love. I dare anyone to say there isn't. Every song brings some new idea to the table with the players only bringing their best, so there's never a dull second which is a feat for an hour-long album.
I Have Made My Bed In Darkness honestly rivals some of my other favorite albums not just in the scene but in general, with such an incredible sound it never gets boring and I've always come back to it just to appreciate it more since this released all the way back in 2008. If this band didn't release a follow up album they could've been one of those more infamous bands that drop an absolutely mind-boggling release before dissolving away leaving only a cult hit behind to be appreciated a little too late. That's the worst thing about it all; this album makes you feel like we're missing out by not having the most unlikely people making some of the best music.
