Andrés Giménez remembers with nostalgia and joy one of the memorable visits that ANIMAL made to Los Angeles more than 20 years ago. Between one sip and another of a mate that seems delicious, he talks, from his house in Argentina, about the “glorious age” of metal in Latin America and the United States.
“The nineties were the most glorious time with a revolutionary sense for rock in Spanish,” said the vocalist and founder of the group. “In the 2000s that effervescence was lost a bit and from then on the industry changed a lot, and that didn’t help that volcano of energy that was there”.
Tours like the Watcha, as well as other massive festivals and underground, brought and brought groups like this throughout the continent; however, that was not enough to keep ANIMAL afloat. The group succumbed to the weariness of its members and had several periods of inactivity.
Much has happened since those visits to the United States, when the age of the members of this band was around thirty-something. Some of the most relevant was a period of a decade of separation of the members. Then there were meetings to record albums, and also to offer a concert.
“There are times that in the human relationship one ends up as saturated,” said the artist. “And that kept us apart, but we also missed each other, and the love of being together on stage made us come back.”
For seven years, ANIMAL has been active. Its members understood that each one can have their moments of loneliness, but that together “we are very happy,” said Andrés.
So much so that the group decided to celebrate its 30 years of life, which will be fulfilled in 2022, with the album “Íntimo Extremo: 30 años”, which includes 15 reversals of the band’s most popular songs, including “Aura”, “ Slave of illusion”, “Sun”, “My neighborhood” and “Just for being Indians”. This last cut is the one currently promoted by the group, and has Juanes as a guest.
“We made great records, tours, we were playing a lot,” said the singer. “And we have to celebrate these 30 years of life, when we come together for this beautiful madness that is ANIMAL”.
Andrés picked up the phone and called Enrique Bunbury, Draco Rosa, Lali, Los Auténticos Decadentes, Andrés Calamaro, Rubén Albarrán, León Gieco and Álex Lora, among others. He invited them to participate in this celebration and that is how the album was impregnated with the styles and essences of some of the greatest rockers in Latin America.
The plan is to complete the celebration with a tour that will begin next year and will cover most of the continent. Because despite the time and the dead periods, the band’s dream is still intact, said Andrés.
“We continue with the same dream and desire to be able to carry our music with happiness to share it and to be able to fill the souls of other people with happiness,” he said.