REVIEWS OF THE DEAD

Animated Dead - Dead To The Followers
12-13-04 Review by Brutalism.com

Animated Dead is a trio from the USA that like to play death grind and they show it on this 2004 demo. 4 Tracks that are covered with brutal gutteral vocals, hammer drums and sawing guitars. Tempo of teh songs is mainly fast but there are breaking points which go to hard banging mid tempo. For the melody freaks you can find them but don't expect compelling atmospheric elements. Nice 4 tracker.

ANIMATED DEAD
LIVE OF THE DEAD
2003 Review By: Garden Of The Gods

http://www.darksoul7.com/

This CD is like a boot to the face… fucking brutal. This live album is a showcase of the band’s stage prowess and you can definitely tell that this band is a live band and not a CD band. There are a few downfalls to this and a lot of pros; cons first. Due to this being recorded live, the sound quality leaves something to be desired. The bass comes through too much, the vocals are a bit too high, the guitars are too low; the usual live recording issues; although, for a live recording, it sounds damn good. There’s no peeking, there are no pops, just good clean brutality. There was only one part where there was a change in volume, which, I’m guessing, was a person walking in front of one of the main speakers. The one major difference between this live recording and most others is that this one actually catches the energy of the band. The musicianship is incredibly precise, which enables them to collectively and effectively pummel the crowd with a wall of metal. In a raw medium like this one, it’s easy to find influences from the old school. Slayer and Obituary are both very present as are many others. Good stuff. This made me want to see Animated Dead live. Even after you take the stage presence away, you’re still left with a performance worthy of international bands. Animated Dead is a top notch trio of well rehearsed musicians, definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Jens Metal Page 2003
www.jensmetalpage.com

Some death metal coming straight from IL. Old school death metal, Cannibal Corpse sound to them. Still super fast, deep vocals. Drummer sounds like he got faster since the last CD I heard from them. Not bad at all.

Midwest Metal... Review by J.L. Schwartz 2003
Animated Dead
Self-Titled
Remember I Lied
Dead to the...
Pathetic Creation
Despise
Blasphemous Grinding Bliss
Evil Spirits….Live
Arising from six feet underground are voices of the angry and discontent. These voices now have manifest flesh in the form called “Animated Dead”. The self-titled five song release gives rage an anvil on which to pound itself into unconsciousness. Plus, a bonus stellar live track. The CD constantly delivers a hard, raging bass and drum chorus. Several times within the compilation, the bass is left to stand and deliver. These are truly some of sweetest spots of such wonderfully bile candy. Dual guitar promulgation and vocals delivered with the coarseness of sandpaper make for a well-orchestrated destruction. Even greater than Animated Dead’s ability to deliver the hell is their ability to stop on a dime from it all. Dead to the and Despise feast upon the best of the band. Many times the band shows it prowess of timing abilities and their competence to disseminate a listener with the rage of a nuclear assault. Equally exciting is the unlisted live Evil Spirits. It is proof positive that what the Animated Dead can do in the studio can be done on stage. Overall the Animated Dead are an example of what other bands are trying to be. Bloodthirsty and savage with no apologies for such trite things. Theirs is a take no prisoners policy that will leave you exhausted yet willing for more.

MIDWESTMETAL.......REVIEW BY MAGGOT 09-03
LIVE OF THE DEAD
http://65.69.40.41/midwest/
It seems amusing to me that this band has been kicking my ass in the mosh pit since the early 90's at the old Club 367, here in Mizery (Mo). The band has taken a hiatus once upon a time and seemed to be left at the streetside like the St. Louis metal scene. Only to be arisen from beyond their grave and start the brutality once again. Animated Dead is pretty much the only old skool death metal band left in St. Louis. Animated Dead has released for our sick pleasure a live CD named "Live Of The Dead". It has 10 whiskey drenched and razor blade gargled homages to their brutal gift of death metal, courtesy of Spence Riggle, A.D. front man and bass. Don’t think that because this is live it sucks. Well actually it sucks the joy from my heart and throws me into a rage for a world against me. Jeff Riggle blasts the fuck out of the drums and assists in getting those feet a stomping. You have to appreciate that!!! To bring this madness to a head, you have the master of the guitar, Rik Geib. Rik is the one that seems to me to be the demon invoked to put the circle spin in the pit. There is no reason anyone should not hurt after a Animated Dead show. This CD only reflects part of the pain that they bring to their shows and well worth the $5 bucks to purchase. Pay your respects and remember "Jesus Wept!" Probably cause he couldn’t handle the pure hate and power of the Animated Dead!!!

REVIEW BY JEFF
METALWHORE.COM
The Animated Dead have been blasting around the St. Louis area underground since 1990 playing around their own unique brand of brutal Death Metal. This self released disc catches the fury of the band live. I know what you're thinking...self released + live = shit. WRONG! Nothing could be further from the truth. This is one of the best self released discs I've heard...period. This is just some solid fucking playing. From the first few bars of Evil Spirits you know these boys ain't fucking around and it just gets better from there. I had to glance at the jacket a few times to make sure I was seeing this right. This is just three dudes? Yea, yea...it's just three dudes: Bassist/Vocalists Spence Riggle, Drummer Jeff Riggle and Guitarist Rick Geib. I could throw in all kinds of cool adjectives here, but these boys are just damn good. Some of my favorite tracks: Pathetic Creation, Parasitic (holy fuck this one just crunches) & Blasphemous Grinding Bliss OK, you can but this disc from the address below for $5. That's five dollars for thirty minutes of peel your scalp back death metal. It's cheaper than sex, and almost as good. The only problem I have with this band: 13 years and no label deal. WTF? Are you listening Relapse? Century? Nuclear? The End? Send these guys your money. You won't be disappointed.