- Country: Sweden
- Style: Melodic death metal
- Label: Century Media
- Release date: 4 November 2016
Gothenburg’s most reliable band went through a quiet upheaval before this one, with Martin Henriksson stepping away, and you might have expected a cautious record as a result. Atoma is anything but timid. It’s melancholic, synth-heavy and full of choruses that stick for days, and Mikael Stanne sounds completely at home switching between his weathered growl and a clean voice that gets plenty of space here.
“Encircled” kicks off with tense, driving riffs, but it’s the title track that shows where the album’s heart is: mid-paced, moody, carried by a clean chorus that could almost pass for gothic rock. “Forward Momentum” is even better, a slow builder with a refrain that hits like a sucker punch. “Force of Hand” and “The Pitiless” remind everyone they can still play fast and mean.
The keyboards are everywhere, shimmering behind the guitars rather than fighting them, and the closing “Caves and Embers” ends on a bleak, beautiful note. If there’s a complaint, it’s that the middle stretch blurs a little. Even so, it’s their most emotionally direct album in a long while, wrapped in Niklas Sundin’s own cover art.
Best tracks:
Atoma
Forward Momentum
Force of Hand
Clearing Skies
Caves and Embers
Author’s rating: 8.6/10
Gave it 5 stars
No member has given this album 5 stars yet. Join WeMetalheads and rate it.
