Another Animal formed in 2006 in the United States as a hard rock supergroup, drawing its members from three well established acts of the previous decade. The band was formed in 2006 by Godsmack members Tony Rombola on guitar, Robbie Merrill on bass, and Shannon Larkin on drums, who recruited vocalist Whitfield Crane, formerly of Ugly Kid Joe, and guitarist Lee Richards of Dropbox to complete the lineup. The project grew out of a surplus of material from Godsmack sessions rather than being planned from the outset. The project originated from excess material written during sessions for Godsmack's 2006 album IV, where the trio produced around 38 tracks but only used a portion, leaving surplus songs that evolved into Another Animal's sound, influenced by bands like Black Sabbath and Faith No More's Angel Dust era. From the start, the band leaned into a heavier, riff driven post grunge and alternative metal sound built on the chemistry of musicians who had already spent years together in other groups.
The band's breakthrough came with its only studio album, released in the fall of 2007. Another Animal is the only studio album by the rock supergroup Another Animal, released on October 2, 2007. The record was released through Republic/Universal Records, featuring 12 tracks including the lead single "Broken Again," which was made available to radio stations on July 23, 2007 . That single became the band's biggest hit, as "Broken Again" reached No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart . With a lineup built around Whitfield Crane's vocals, Tony Rombola's guitar work, Shannon Larkin's drumming and Robbie Merrill's bass, the band carried the pedigree of Godsmack and Ugly Kid Joe into a fresh, if short lived, project that also placed one of its tracks, "Amends," in the soundtrack of the 2008 horror film Insanitarium, as noted on the album's own entry.
To support the record, Another Animal hit the road with one of hard rock's bigger touring acts of the era. To support the album, the band opened for Alter Bridge on tour in late 2007. The band's momentum slowed afterward, though it was not entirely finished. Another Animal later released a single titled "Fall of Rome," produced by Dave Fortman, and drummer Shannon Larkin mentioned that if the single is a success they will make a new album, a follow-up to their self-titled debut of 2007. That hoped for revival never fully materialized, and the band's activity effectively wound down not long after, with its official years active listed as 2006 to 2008, and again briefly in 2011 .
Another Animal never released a follow up to its 2007 debut, and today it stands less as an ongoing act than as a well remembered footnote in the history of its members' more famous bands. Its legacy rests largely on the strength of "Broken Again" and on the novelty, for fans of the genre, of hearing Godsmack's rhythm section paired with Whitfield Crane's distinctive voice outside their usual bands. The album's hard rock and post grunge sound has continued to circulate among collectors and genre enthusiasts long after the band itself went quiet.
For this archive, Another Animal holds a small but meaningful place. Wayne Dennon photographed the band at a single show in 2007, almost certainly capturing them during the touring cycle behind their self-titled debut, and that night is preserved here in 36 photographs. In the years since, visitors to this memorial archive have viewed those images of Another Animal 27,157 times, a quiet testament to the enduring curiosity around this brief but distinctive supergroup and to Wayne's eye for documenting rock history as it happened.
