Imagine if you will, a time where Planet Earth has become inhospitable. Not a massive leap is it? Quite frankly I’ve been looking for another planet that would sustain life ever since some bright spark decided to allow Simon Cowell to make television shows; but I digress. In a time where Earth can no longer sustain human life, a group of brave astronauts search the cosmos in search of a new home for mankind. AtomA’s concept album Skylight is all about that journey and we get to travel with them, lucky people that we are! Goodbye Planet Earth!
AtomA are basically a reformation of highly regarded death doomsters Slumber, with the addition of former Scar Symmetry frontman Christian Älvestam on backing vocals and rhythm guitar. Anyone who is familiar with the work of Slumber will not only have lamented their passing, but will be equally delighted to learn of their rebirth through AtomA; yet this is something different. To attempt to categorise this band is as pointless as trying to cage smoke, for as they describe themselves as apocalyptic post metal, to try and pin down what these guys manage to achieve in just a few words does them a complete disservice. The driving force here is vocalist Ehsan Kalantarpour, who also provides the all-important synth programming. ‘Skylight’ opens with an aurally cinematic and descriptive piece that conjures up thoughts and images of everything from Blade Runner and Vangelis, through to Enigma, Bjork, Amplifier and the Blue Man Group. I know what you are thinking, and you would be right in that it doesn’t sound very metal at all. If truth be told, parts of this album do not, but then parts of it most definitely do, as on the title track where we get a dramatic build-up of atmosphere as the rocket takes off, and the vocals take on an aggressive death metal roar as you battle against the noise, power and violence of a rocket launch, and you realise that you are not just listening to an album at this point, but instead feel like an active participant.
Whilst the songs generally do not have a traditional structure per-se, with all of them providing a narrative for a segment of the journey, they do work well in their own right also. Standout examples include ‘Hole in the Sky’ which is probably the most traditional example of a rock song on here, and ‘Highway’, a song that takes many forms and styles over its four and a half minute duration, with its clean vocal style switching between a warm whisper to a soaring passage in an effortless and perfectly judged switch. Whilst I’m not generally one to praise synth work, the sound and atmosphere generated here by Kalantarpour is nothing short of outstanding and it brings to mind the work of Isao Tomita, whose electronic interpretations of classical music in the 70’s and 80’s started a paradigm shift in the use of electronics in different forms of music. As strong as the vocals and synth are, the guitars and bassline of Siavosh Bigonah are perfectly judged, and for once the bass is prominent enough in the mix to make a valid contribution without dominating the complex soundscape; and the drums of Markus Hill are as technical and faultless as any I have heard in the past 10 years.
It’s very difficult for me to find fault with ‘Skylight’, but if I had to pick anything, I’d just say that the journey, so vivid and descriptive so early on, became increasingly vague for me as things progressed; yet to say that is akin to saying that the interest rate on your lottery win is too low. This is not an album for someone expecting extreme metal, or is it? I guess it is extreme, but extreme in a different way to what you would normally expect. Extreme prog maybe? This is not just an album of music; it is an experience, and what an experience it is. I have had this on almost constant rotation now for a couple of weeks to the exclusion of pretty much everything else and it is simply stunning. If you feel like escaping, grab a copy of AtomA’s ‘Skylight’ and lay down in a darkened room and explore the universe with them. Goodbye, Planet Earth…
(9/10, Lee Kimber)
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