Anims - 'God Is A Witness'

(Sneakout Records)

I remember hearing snippets of Anims prior to hearing the album in full and been quite excited about it especially as I’m a massive fan of female vocals. On my first listen I was bitterly disappointed it wasn’t what I was expecting at all, so this cast shade on my initial thoughts on the album. I’ve given the album a few more spins to try and give ‘God Is A Witness’ a more objective review.

Anims is a guitar heavy album full of driven hard rock with strong classic rock leanings. While I can appreciate elements of the musicianship the songs just don’t captivate me and the lack of immediate choruses or hooks made ‘God Is A Witness’ a very hard album to get into.

Anims is Guitarist Francesco Di Nicola’s baby and he is the principal song writer and its clear from the opening chords to the last this is a guitarists album. There are some strong riffs and guitar work that many guitar fans will be intrigued by.

The main draw for me personally though is vocalist Elle Noir who has stunning melodious voice and has moments where her talents shine through. I feel as though the songs don’t do her justice though, she has no moments to really capture a listener because the melodies, hooks or choruses just don’t get a hold of you.

‘God Is A Witness’ isn’t a bad album it just doesn’t appeal to me but I fully understand why others would totally disagree with me, I can hear what may appeal to others most notably in Di Nicola’s guitar work. It’s not an instant album and certainly won’t appeal to those looking for a quick musical fix. Given the strong Classic Rock flow of the album it may intrigue fans of early Heart, especially with Noir’s voice.

‘God Is A Witness’ has its moments and showcases some strong musicianship but it falls down when it comes to the songs actually making an imprint. It’s a little too underwhelming to really recommend to fans in general, but fans with a little more patience and appreciation for quality musicianship may find songs here to enjoy.

5/10

Review by Woody