Anima Bio

In the summer of 2005 Benni (drums) and André (guitar) decided to start a metal band with their friend Tino Hoffmann on vocals. They were soon joined by Steven on guitar, who had seen an ad posted by the band. The band was originally going to be called Metmachines, but this monicker was soon discarded. Soon after, Justin joined the band on bass, thus completing the line-up for the time being.

The band found a rehearsal room and started writing their first few songs. In the meantime the members decided on the band name Today Heaven’s Dying, playing their first gig at the Clubhaus in Nordhausen. At that point Tino had already left the band, being replaced by Mario Merkel. With this line-up the band played several club shows.

Around half a year later Mario left the band too, being replaced by Robert Horn, who until then had been drumming for a fellow metalcore band, but who turned out to be a talented singer. The resulting line-up has stayed together until today.

Soon the band realized they needed a new, shorter and more concise band name, soon deciding on the ANIMA banner.

A lot happened in the following year and a half. The band played a large number of shows, gaining a lot of more or less fun experiences in the process. In the summer of 2006 the group started recording their debut CD entitled “Souls of the Decedents” at 138 Studios in Ellrich. The album secured the band their first deal with All Life Ends Records.

“The Daily Grind” was the title of the next MCD to be released in the fall of 2007, which was set to include five songs recorded, mixed and mastered at Slaughter’s Palace and Rape of Harmonies studios. However, the CD was never released. Shortly after posting the first songs on MySpace the band gained interest from Metal Blade Records to everyone’s excitement and amazement. Obviously the band didn’t hesitate long, signing a contract soon after.