MUSIC DIRECTOR REACTS | Matt Garstka "Conflict Cartography " Animals as Leaders 

I can never get over how good he is. The entire band are legends For live content catch me on Twitch. www.twitch.tv/drumrolltony

Keep these Animals reactions coming!

I'm NOT a drummer, but they fascinate me, and Matt is by far my current favorite. "Reaction videos" help me to understand what's making the sounds that amaze me, and Tony, THANK YOU for both providing the most complete analysis on the web AND sharing my gob-smacked glee at the artistry of these cats. 🙏

You know, one of the things I love about prog drummers is the huge kits they often use. While I love hearing someone go off on a tiny kit and make it sound great, I love the variety of sounds that these drummers have at their disposal.

Definitely check out his channel for his composition breakdowns. I don’t think he’s posted one for this yet but there’s quite a few for other songs on there, since you wanted to see into his creative process. He goes pretty in-depth.

Matt has some incredibly well made instructional videos on his website. I own them all and can’t recommend them enough, especially the Kit Mobility lesson and Mastering Time Pts.1-2 And obviously the transcriptions are so great to just have and follow along with the music

Thanks for doing this reaction!! I’ve been an AAL fan since they started. And one thing I’ve noticed on their first 2 albums is the absolute musical insanity they bring! But when they did The Joy of Motion, they got more melodic. And I personally enjoy that more than the insanity all the time. Conflict Cartography is definitely melodic, they have to do the insanity in the middle, and finish it off with the melodic. It’s genius composition! I love it!!!

You should check out some Matt Halpern from Periphery, he's got a lot of great playthrough vids to choose from. His groove is so good and unique.

Ive already said this but man you are picking the best drum tracks they have and its a treat to have you break it down.

Just want to say, I'm loving the reactions. I was put off reactions (to an extent) at a point. It felt like people could slap on "Vocal Coach" or "Music Teacher" reacts but clearly know nothing about music. Just in it for the quick views. Reactions started to tilt me because I've been playing guitar, drums and bass since I was 11 (30 now), and I studied Music Performance in college for 5 years. And hearing these people say things like "I love the triplets" when they hear two 16th followed by an 8th. Almost felt degrading in a way. I've watched enough of your videos to safely say, you know what you're talking about, and your passion for music is clear, which is why I subbed! You should check out the band Aviations and the song Outliers. They're a prog metal band that started from Berklee Music School. The video for this is visually incredible too. You'll love it if you love music and visuals for sure! One of the only bands that incorporate Piano properly into metal I'd say. Also, for Matt Gartska, Gordian Naught is the song to go to. By far his best playthrough. The section from 1:28 onwards will blow you away. Keep up the grind! Followed you on Twitch too. (sorry for the long ass comment. I don't usually comment on things, but I really thing you'd enjoy these both!)

you might want to check out matt's channel if you haven't already. he has videos where he talks about composition in AAL (specifically the new album), drumming technique and so on.

You should check out Shawn Crowder’s playthrough of “Macchina” on the Meinl channel. Shawn is another Berklee guy who does some insane exploration of the “rhythmic vocabulary” (like Matt here), but on account of Sungazer generally being a bit more laid back relative to AAL, I find it to be a lot more subtle. On the studio recording of Macchina, I always assumed multiple percussion tracks contributing, but seeing his playthrough of that song in particular demonstrated that it’s all insane limb independence going on behind the scenes. Worth checking out!

You need to check out his live play through of Micro-aggressions, I think you would love that.

Love the channel ! Another suggestion for a future video; Eloy cassagrande

You definitely have to check out more stuff from them! The 2020 anaheim live is a goldmine (Woven web for that ridiculous breakdown) and from Matt's perspective there are more playthroughs from the previous album like Inner Assassins, Ectogenesis etc.

matt will go down as one of the greats when it's all said and done. he is on another level.

This is totally what my drum solos sound like in my head before actually just sounding like an insane person bashing a trashcan lid.

i wish animals as leaders were more popular in the mainstream. they deserve the recognition. obviously not everyone is going to get it. at least they're highly respected by musicians.

You should definitely sus out Luke Holland/Jason Richardson 👏🏼 any of their joint stuff is a gold mine

Thanks for sharing. Isn't that something!? That some insane stuff. I think it's very musical. It usually comes by feel and one continuous motion. Ectogenesis is anther interesting one.

It sounds like basses because that's in the bass range: they use 2 x 8 string guitars. The 2 additional strings are lower (B and E most of the time) Basically they are alternating roles in playing bass or guitar ranges (among other way to arrange that).

Hey Tony, great job with your reactions!.. Came here to say that Matt released two videos on youtube a few weeks ago to talk about the composition process and a ton of other details.. They are about "monomyth" and "Red miso", I think you'd love them.. If I'm not wrong Matt also has all the transcriptions of the last album freely available on his website.. Enjoy!!..

What are they putting in the water over there at Berklee?

I STRONGLY SUGGEST u to check the songs from Kevin Penkin used in Made in Abyss It's outstanding and unique in it's own way

So good

He's pretty accessible, you should reach out to him. Put it up on your channel, I'll watch it!

Im new here! I think you would thoroughly enjoy Ectogenesis by Animals as leaders .. Matts cover for that is out of this world

Matt actually streams and discusses his approach in detail

How about Dance Gavin Dance's drummer, Matt Mingus' playthrough of Prisoner. That's a dope track. Keep up the awesome reviews and reactions!

Hey man, really enjoyed your commentary here. I appreciate your technical knowledge and loved watching your facial expressions to some of the nastier parts of Matt's phrasings in this song. Subscribed and looking forward to more. Not sure if you've checked out Periphery, but I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on their songs "Reptile" or "Blood Eagle." Their drummer is up there with Garstka. Hope you check it out.

You should check out his playthroughs of Gordian Naught and Microaggressions, and I know you've seen some of his videos, but I promise you you're still gonna be mindblown

A little bit of Meshuggah vibe 😁

Matt just started a podcast!

What an incredible musician. He is far more than just a drummer. And the musicians in the rest of the band are amazing. This piece reminds me of a favorite growing up. I was a big fan of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. If you're interested in hearing them, try the piece Tarkus (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7CDuLFHLgj0.html). ELP was of course one of the first prog rock bands. Another great piece they did was Karn Evil 9 1st impression Part 2.

You gotta do the song Inner Assassins, one of their best songs.

Try checking kanade sato a Japanese jazz drummer doing a cover festival del ritmo,you gonna love it.

I am not sure if there is any other drummer on this earth on this musical gender, who is even close to Matt. We have great jazz, blues,death metal drummers, but on this prog world, I am not sure there is someone close to him.

Kakyoin is a friend of Jotaro - the main character. He helps him in accomplishing his goals and contributes a lot to defeating the main villain. He isn't a villain at all :)

You'd really appreciate Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree....the live "Anesthetize". It's a long one that goes by too fast!! Also checkout Senri Kawaguchi a 25yr old jazz/fusion drummer playing since she was 5. .....AMAZING!!!!!

You have to relax your brain to take in his polyrhythms and "feel" them.

This song is the one that confuses me the most. I can follow most of it but in a certain part, forget it. The guitar riff is so sick there that my mind can't process the groove. But it's a excellent song.

Band-Maid will release a new song in less than 30 minutes tonight, would love to see you react to it the next chance you have 😁 Great content on your channel btw keep it up

Man you need to react to Jason Richardson and Luke Holland - Ishimura or Tendinitis!

Is there a possibility that u could react to Frostpunk-"The city must survive" and or "on the edge" it has more of a classic tone but I think you will like it

For sure he has a chip on his head, that’s not possible

Plis do Overlord Op and End

Can you react to Advent : One Winged Angel please if you don't know it. A beautiful piece of music from the final fantasy film. I am sure many will be happy to hear your thoughts about it 😊

Gotta listen to bury the light bro

Ok sorry but Band-Maid just realesed a new Track : Unleash !!!!! .. guess you know

Can u react to initial d amv they are very cool!

Can you react to the new opening of Overlord Anime season 4 Hollow Hunger by OxT it was such a blast

Tony you should check out Matt Halpern from Periphery: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DDDd5zovN4g.html

React to bleach ost

Jojo's bizzare adventure "Propoganda"