Review: Slomatics ‘Atomicult’
Belfast’s Slomatics are an institution at this point in the UK underground doom and sludge scenes, but their sound has been slowly evolving from their initial slab-dragging monstrosity into something no less heavy but a lot more psychedelic and fuzzier. Their last record, Strontium Fields, was a really strong showing for the band and their evolving sound, and their new record, Atomicult, looks to continue their path into weirder realms. It is out now through Majestic Mountain Records and is clad once more in glorious Ryan Lesser artwork.
If you thought that Strontium Fields was psychedelic, just wait until the kaleidoscopic rumble of opener Obey Capricorn crawls into your mind and sets up shop. Slomatics obviously realised that they had a winning formula and stuck to it on Atomicult, but if anything, it pushes even further into the trippy psych territory.
The riffs are still massive, earth-shaking slabs of Sabbath, Trouble, Electric Wizard, but everything shimmers with an odd haze. Vocalist Marty Harvey has a wonderful voice for this kind of music, clean with just the slightest otherworldly tone to it. It really reminds me of Sleep-era Al Cisneros at times, mixed with some Lee Dorrian and Jesu-era Justin Broadrick, albeit with a slightly operatic twinge.
Auto-Skull has a righteous, palaeolithic stomp about it, as science fiction-inspired guitar leads swirl around the carven earth the riffs are built on. Everything is spacious, almost cosmic at times, but it is still rooted in bulldozing classic fuzzed-up stoner doom, although not as much as it used to be. It allows the more psychedelic elements freedom to roam and dance amongst the stars without losing focus and leaving us tracks like Chrome Sisters and its swaggering groove.
the psychedelic, solar-chrysalis-opening moment that Slomatics have been building to for two decades…
There are also the glorious, almost Sigur Rós-like passages of Relics, the mesmerising Night Grief with its trance-like drumming section and the glorious existential journey of Physical Witching, the album’s highlight moment for me. All of these elements feel intrinsic to the band’s sound, and yet all feel pushed even more prominently on Atomicult, making this feel like the definitive Slomatics record.
Strontium Fields had proven to be a new high point in the career of a band who had always been pretty reliably great over the years, but they have elevated their game once again on Atomicult. The sound is fuller, richer, still as shudderingly heavy but possessed of a cosmic surety now that gives them so much room to explore. Atomicult is an album that has been a long time coming, but finally feels like the psychedelic, solar-chrysalis-opening moment that Slomatics have been building to for two decades. A marvellous record.
Label: Majestic Mountain Records
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Scribed by: Sandy Williamson
