Album Review: Slomatics - Atomicult
Reviewed by Sam Jones
If you were to ask me whom are amongst the most underrated sludge/doom bands now, my answer would be Slomatics. Having discovered them on the back of Conan many years ago, Slomatics have always been that band who never seem to receive the recognition they deserve yet always release material that belies their prowess. Formed in 2004 out of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Slomatics tapped into a stranger, psychedelic variant of sludge/doom which could tone us to be their signature sound, releasing their debut album, Flooding The Weir, in 2005. Their early years saw another record release as well as a slew of Splits with Comply Or Die, Selaah and most notably in 2011, Conan. In an uninterrupted succession the band write and churn out material so that almost every year Slomatics have something to offer their committed legions. Now on the cusp of their eighth album, Atomicult, Slomatics return just two years after Strontium Fields this time through Majestics Mountain Records for a September 12th release date. Their newest record label in a decade, Atomicult seems poised to take audiences into odder, more astral territories and having been sundered from Slomatics for a time I deemed this the right time to return to their portfolio.
One thing I've always respected Slomatics for has been their ability to convey immense power without going overboard on the tone. One approaches these guys in the hopes their fuzz will be of vast scope and command our attention fully, but whilst listening we aren’t at the band’s mercy. Their riffs are excellently pronounced, you can almost feel the shape their riffs take as strings are plucked, and the riff simply resonates into the next phase of the song, but Slomatics don’t try and hold you captive. You'll be on the receiving end of this swathe of tone but their vocals can still call across the vastness of their soundscape with ease. In addition, given their style, the guitar work isn’t always active; there are times where the guitar work ceases entirely which provides the drums and bass their chance to carry you along. Though Slomatics’ songwriting is here with strength and enrapture in mind, they don’t feel the desire to go to the nth degree to do so. Mind you, on their eighth album now they understand what works for them and what audiences have come to expect.
As mentioned, i like how the vocals can still hold their own on record despite surrounded by massively sonorous instrumental elements. The band respect each member performing on record and i adore how the vocals can still be heard with ease, without having to really hone in on the delivery. Most sludge/doom bands you’ve really got to try and focus but Slomatics make your job so much easier. The actual delivery is great for it carries a featherweight presence that ensures its not going to get itself tied up amongst the myriad of heavier elements already here. Had the vocals been heavier the mix might be balanced too greatly in one direction, but since the vocals are airier, are essentially resting atop the riffs, it gives them this sense of cloud-like buoyancy that no matter what songwriting Slomatics pull off those vocals will always find their way to you.
As one listens to Atomicult they’ll likely be struck as to how simple the band’s songwriting is. Slomatics as a band have never leaned towards complexity with their writing which some bands feel is necessary; throughout their career Slomatics have forged gold out of simplicity, removing the fat from everything they do and other than a few instances where these more cerebral, weighty segments come into play, their tracks are very by the book. What you’ll feel towards the end is what you’ll first experience at the start. However, its everything Slomatics throw in the middle, carrying us through that transition from start to finish, that renders their sludge/doom metal the high praise their studio material achieves. These are tracks that can be five or six minutes long in places and whilst Slomatics do include twists and meandering routes by which their songwriting takes you down, you will always feel like they’ve got you covered, knowing where you’ll end up. Otherwise these songs are three or four minutes long, using simplicity to craft something special.
Something that might draw eyes towards Slomatics more so than their contemporaries is how theyre using ideas through Atomicult you don’t see across sludge/doom typically. Whether its those cerebral sections during “Auto-Skull” or the clear implementation of electronic synthesisers on “Physical Witching”, the rising, riding communion one feels with “Biclops” etc, these are things you don’t see often. This style of sludge and doom can be pretty cut and dry with audiences knowing what they want to hear, so having the gall to step outside boundaries and bring in elements scarcely seen in sludge/doom is to be commended. The effect is great too for it definitely serves the spacey vibe Slomatics have been aspiring for with Atomicult, especially with that album art too. By undergoing these ideas Slomatics help Atomicult become this three-dimensional work that’s far more than what people will immediately presume. In places their songwriting is really elevated by the synthesiser injections, creating something that can’t be easily labelled nor comprehended by ordinarily tangible means.
In conclusion, Slomatics explode out of the gate with this release. To me, its another notch in their career and a reminder as per why they’re so consistently excellent, but they always seem to fall by the wayside against their bigger, crushing contemporaries. The fact they’ve written and played music like this for over two decades is indicative of their innate quality; though they may be a band people think of in their second or third occasion when delving their own archives for great sludge/doom bands Slomatics still deserve the spotlight if only for never faltering along their journey. One could say the overarching style and tone of their riffs has hardly changed in all these years, but then Slomatics throw these potential criticisms to the wind by incorporating synthesisers into their songwriting. This is an outside element you rarely ever see in this form of metal so it demonstrates Slomatics are still innovating, still experimenting, and as they look to release their eighth album they prove they’re far from finished. The band are still hungry and they’ve eyed up their prey. Its why they’re one of the most consistently entertaining bands playing sludge/doom today.
