Tosin Abasi:7 and 8 String Guitars, criticism..
Javier Reyes: 7 and 8 String Guitars, pupusas...
Matt Garstka : Drums, saltines..
ANIMALS AS LEADERS is an American Progressive band based out of Los Angeles, CA. The band is composed of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes along with drummer Matt Garstka. Their unique musical style incorporates musical influences from metal, jazz, electronic, latin, classical, and fusion. In 2009 AAL released their self-titled debut album on Prosthetic Records which quickly launched them into being a trend-setting group in their genre worldwide. Since then the group has released two more albums, Weightless (Prosthetic Records, 2011) and The Joy of Motion (Sumerian Records, 2014) which debuted at #23 in the Billboard Top 200.
AAL has been featured in various media publications throughout the world including Guitar World, Total Guitar, Modern Drummer, Rolling Stone, LA Weekly, and many more. They have received signature endorsements from major companies (Ibanez Guitars, ESP Guitars, Tama Drums) and have managed to play alongside some of the greatest guitar legends such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan and many more.