With “Crash Course Volume 3: Rust Covered Lust”, Animals In Denial closes the loop on a trilogy of sound, taking long-forgotten demos and raw ideas and forging them into something stronger, sharper and more alive than ever before.
The songs that make up this new EP have been completely overhauled with cutting-edge production techniques, AI assisted enhancements, and a relentless drive to elevate past works into its fully realized form. The result is an album that pulses forwards with electricity, aggression, and a kind of nostalgia that surges forwards with teeth bared.
Listen here:
Opening with “Operator”, this song itself is an impressive evolution, born from a beat that haunted Animals in Denial since age 14 after watching The Matrix. Originally pieced together using a lite version of Ableton Live and a handful of drum samples, “Operator” took on a new life when Steven Seibold (Hate Dept/Pigface) stepped in for additional production and mixing.
His expertise helped sharpen the track’s cold, metallic edges, while subtle tweaks – like a reworked third verse and unexpected backing vocals in the chorus – pushed the song into new territory.
Meanwhile, “Coi” immediately plunges the listener into a world of industrial beats and searing guitars. What was once an abandoned demo has transformed into an undeniable force, with a dark and pulsing energy reminiscent of Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails, fused with the density and controlled chaos of The Fragile. It’s the kind of track that demands movement—whether that’s a rhythmic head-nod or full-body immersion in the beat is up to the listener.
Then comes “Rage”, a track that more than lives up to its name. This is a song that doesn’t just explore anger but embodies it. The layers of heavy guitar, thunderous toms and jagged synths create a soundscape that feels like an explosion caught in slow motion, both destructive and oddly beautiful. Originally conceived as an exploration of rage personified, the final song is raw and unrelenting.
The overall EP has a tension about it, with the songs pushing and pulling between the past and a re-invention, between the person who wrote them years ago and the artist bringing them to life today.
The themes that run through the album – fractured relationships, self-discovery, the scars we carry – are given a new weight through the updated production and evolved vocal delivery.
The title itself, “Rust Covered Lust“, suggests something that was once polished but has been left to decay. And that’s exactly what this album does. Rather than discarding past work, it honors it, stripping away the imperfections while keeping the beating heart intact. Christian Imes is reclaiming the songs, and re-shaping them.
By blending industrial, metal, electronic as well as alternative elements with an arsenal of modern production techniques, “Crash Course Volume 3: Rust Covered Lust” does what all great re-visitations should: it re-defines the past.
Whether you have been following the series from the beginning or you are stepping in to the world of Animals In Denial for the first time, “Rust Covered Lust” is sure to be an undeniable force.
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