ANIMALS AS LEADERS: PREP FOR EUROPEAN TOUR, MESHUGGAH DATES

Washington, DC progressive metal warriors ANIMALS AS LEADERS have announced the departure of drummer Navene Koperweis as Matt Garstka is commited to filling in for Koperweis.
ANIMALS AS LEADERS are set to kick off a UK and North American tour with Swedish progressive metal legends MESHUGGAH in April through June 2012.

FROM PROSTHETIC RECORDS:
Matt Garstka to fill in for departing drummer Navene Koperweis

Progressive instrumental pioneers ANIMALS AS LEADERS — whose sophomore album, “Weightless,” cracked the Billboard Top 100 last fall — return to the road next weekend, when they will kick off their first European headlining tour in Tilburg, Holland on April 1. Their headlining dates will surround a week’s worth of UK shows alongside Meshuggah, a band AAL mastermind Tosin Abasi cites as a major influence. Immediately after returning from Europe, ANIMALS AS LEADERS will embark on its first North American tour of the year as they support Thrice on that group’s farewell tour. A complete list of dates is below.

These upcoming shows will not include Navene Koperweis, who has decided to leave the group. Says Koperweis, “Tosin and Javier (Reyes, guitar) are the two most generous, caring and understanding individuals I’ve ever met and I look forward to a lifetime of friendship with the both of them. Over the past decade I have done nothing but music. Recording, writing, playing, practicing, touring and producing. It’s taken me beyond what I could have dreamt of as a kid when I started. My new goals extend beyond the drum kit and I’m the type of person who will constantly chase new dreams. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me soon.”

Abasi says, “I’ve shared some of my most memorable musical experiences to date with Navene and truly consider him a brother. I commend him for following his own path in life, even if that means i’ll no longer be sharing the stage with him. I feel blessed to have had the pleasure of working together and creating a lifelong friendship.”

Filling in for Koperweis on ANIMALS AS LEADERS’ European and North American tours will be the Boston-based Matt Garstka, a Berklee alumnus who has previously played with the groups Gokh Bi System, Two Man Trio and Verse The Fire. Some video footage of Garstka can be viewed here.

“We see nothing but great potential with Matt, and look forward to performing with him on the upcoming tours,” Abasi says. “We feel very excited for the future of AAL, which is brighter than ever. I’m beyond excited for our fans to hear some of the new music we already have brewing for the future!”

ANIMALS AS LEADERS groundbreaking self-titled 2009 debut was praised by Steve Vai as “the future of heavy, creative virtuoso guitar.” The group has toured alongside the likes of BTBAM, Underoath and The Dillinger Escape Plan and many more, and their music video for “CAFO” has accumulated more than 2 million views on YouTube. “Weightless,” the group’s second album, was produced by Koperweis and mixed by Reyes.

ANIMALS AS LEADERS on tour:
4/1 Tilburg, Holland- 013KZ
4/2 Brusells, Belgium- AB Club
4/3 Paris, France- Batofar
4/4 Bielefeld, Germany- Kamp
4/5 Kiel, Germany- Die Pumpe
4/7 Hamburg, Germany- Logo
4/8 Berlin, Germany- Magnet
4/9 Munich, Germany- Feierwerk
4/10 Frankfurt, Germany- Batschkapp
4/12 Bristol, UK – O2 Academy #
4/13 Wolverhampton, UK – Slade Rooms #
4/14 Nottingham, UK – Rock City #
4/15 Glasgow, UK – Garage #
4/17 Manchester, UK – Academy #
4/18 Norwich, UK – Waterfront #
4/19 Brighton, UK – Concorde 2 #
4/20 London, UK – Electric Ballroom #
4/22 Trier, Germany- Ex-Haus
4/23 Bochum, Germany- Matrix
4/24 Cologne, Germany- Underground
4/25 Osnabruck, Germany- Kleine Freiheit
4/26 Hannover, Germany- Musikzentrum
4/27 Dresden, Germany- Reithalle
4/28 Prague, Czech Republic- Rock Cafe
4/29 Ludwigsburg, Germany- Rockfabrick
4/30 Zurich, Switzerland- Werk21
5/1 Vienna, Austria- Chelsea
5/4 San Diego, CA – House of Blues-San Diego %
5/5 Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Café %
5/6 Tempe, AZ – The Marquee %
5/8 Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom %
5/9 Dallas, TX – The Door %
5/10 Austin, TX – Emo’s East %
5/11 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live %
5/12 New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s %
5/13 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade %
5/15 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution %
5/16 Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues %
5/18 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle %
5/19 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte %
5/20 Norfolk, VA – The NorVa %
5/22 Lancaster, PA – Chameleon %
5/23 Washington, DC – The Howard Theatre %
5/24 New York, NY – Best Buy Theatre Times Square %
5/25 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory %
5/26 Boston, MA – Royale Night Club %
5/27 Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre %
5/29 Montreal, QC – Metropolis %
5/30 Toronto, ONT – Phoenix Concert Theatre %
6/1 Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall %
6/2 Chicago, IL – Metro %
6/3 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave %
6/5 Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre %
6/6 Denver, CO – The Summit Music Hall %
6/7 Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue %
6/9 Seattle, WA – The Showbox – The Market %
6/10 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom %
6/12 San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom %
6/13 Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst %
6/14 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues %
6/15 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues %
6/16 Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia LA Live %
6/29 Helsinki, Finland – Tuska Open Air
# w/ Meshuggah
% w/ Thrice

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Prosthetic Records
promo@prostheticrecords.com
prostheticrecords.com

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-