Belfast spacey doom rockers Slomatics have been working like trojans for nearly two decades. Regularly supporting any fellow spacey doomers who might be travelling through Belfast, they’ve been doing their own thing, and building up a steady fan base along the way. Their 8th album entitled Atomicult has once again been produced by Rocky O’Reilly at Start Together studios. Having previously masterminded the first two And So I Watch You From Afar albums, he always conjures up a HUGE sound, and this is perfect for a band like Slomatics.
The trio of Marty Harvey (drums/vocals), David Majury (guitar) and Chris Couzens (guitar) have honed their sound into something distinct and recognisable. This talent has led to split records with Conan, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard and Domkraft amongst others. They’ve also found themselves playing at festivals such as Roadburn, Desertfest and Freak Valley. Yet somehow, this is my first time reviewing their music in all the years I’ve been writing.
Opening with the mighty ‘Obey Capricorn’, the thunderous fuzzy riffs are fused with a soaring vocal melody. The pounding drums and relentless thick guitars are full of skull cracking intent. Wonderful vintage synths add a lovely layer of depth on ‘Phantom Castle Warning’ which has a melodic bridge that really hits the spot. ‘Auto-Skull’ wallops hard like a wrecking ball through a building. Riffs that border on staccato adding to the ferocity of the guitars. The psychedelic synthy prog section aligns itself with the last Blood Incantation album and I’m all for that.
Eventually some light relief can be found in the delicate balladry of ‘Relics’ which strips back the instrumentation for some clean guitars and tenderly crooned vocals. ‘Night Grief’ drops like a monolith from the sky and locks into a swirling groove built on crashing drums and waves of thick distorted guitars. ‘Physical Witching’ pulls the ancient analogue tones to the forefront for a funereal dirge. Marty’s vocals remind me of the elongated psalms I used to endure in church as a kid. Of course, that comparison is at odds with the shadowy intent of this song. ‘Chrome Sisters’ is practically sprightly compared to the previous track with a playful organ permeating the fluid riffage.
Underneath every song lies a hooky melody and ‘Biclops’ has the best of the bunch as Marty is allowed to hover above the seismic hum a little higher in the mix. ‘Summer Skeletons’ pairs back the heaviness for a weird interlude of clean guitars, kooky keyboard drones and devilish voices. The winner for the most ridiculous song title of the year goes to Slomatics with ‘To Ultramegaphonium’. Lurching round your head with monstrous riffs and slow crashing beats there’s nowhere to escape when this beast is in full attack. It goes a bit Led Zep in the middle as the bass takes over while a plethora of ghoulish tones mysteriously float in the background. The brutal grind comes stomping back laying waste to what remains of your hearing.
Slomatics seem to have been around forever, yet they kept slipping under my radar. There’s no doubt a recent interest in heavier tones, thanks to Blood Incantation, has enabled me to really enjoy an album like this. I’ve a better understanding of the nuances of the different sub-genres of metal. For every complex and technically motivated album there needs to be the balance of just rocking the fuck out with sheer volume, power and simplicity. Atomicult is a no messin’ superheavy blast of big filthy riffs and quality tunes.
