thrash / metalcore
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Right, how about a rude awakening today? We're kicking off today's writing session with a brutal blend of hardcore and thrash metal, because why not? After all, we need something to wake us up after a short night of sleep. Too short, if you ask me, but perhaps that's my own fault because I've been designing stuff until four o'clock last night. If all goes well, you'll soon find out what I've been doing over the past few days but for now, let's stick to our day job and review this stuff.
Atarra is a band from Warsaw, Poland, formed in 2012. Something tells me that these guys take their music very seriously and are determined to become a big player in today's metal scene. They seem professional and driven, two very good characteristics for a metal band but obviously, that doesn't necessarily make a band great. To be great, you need awesome music too. And that's where Aterra are heading.
Now, in all honesty I have to say that metalcore and hardcore have never been my favorite genres, although I do respect and admire the skills of many artists out there. In that aspect, Aterra might not become my favorite band but I will tell you that they made a very interesting album, one with a lot of variation, a lot of guts and a lot of power. For hard- & metalcore fans, this really is a must have.
The album opens with 'Still To Try', a track that immediately reminds me of bands like Sick Of It All, Hatebreed and many of their colleagues. Yet, there also seem to be some melodic death metal influences, mostly from the Swedish style. That combination works quite well as you can hear some excellent melodies behind a well of brute force. It's a great opener for this album, immediately showing the headbang capacity.
But there seems to be more to Aterra than just smashing some distorted guitars through your eardrums. Between most of the songs, they've placed a number of atmospheric instrumentals, some drones, some ambient stuff. These breathers are quite welcome between nutkickers like 'Paper Kings' (which could be seen as a very heavy Dog Eat Dog song), the grinding 'PW' or the punk rocker 'Voices'.
That alternation between quiet breathers and fierce hardcore metal keeps the album interesting for me. Besides, none of the songs seems to be exactly the same as the previous one, something which often is the case in this scene. 'Low', for example is a brilliant doomed post-metal track and, for that, probably my favorite track on this album. Did I mention the fact that Aterra often incorporates keyboards? No? Well, they do and they really complete this album.
So yes, I've been pleasantly surprised by this Polish quintet. Yet, I also feel that they still can do better, that they will undoubtedly grow as a band. Why? Well, there are some elements on this album that could set Aterra apart from other hard- & metalcore bands. If they find and emphasise these, I'm positive that they will become a pretty unique and genre-bending act in the near future and that they will, in their turn, influence a lot of young bands to go out there and do their thing.
Serge
Atarra is a band from Warsaw, Poland, formed in 2012. Something tells me that these guys take their music very seriously and are determined to become a big player in today's metal scene. They seem professional and driven, two very good characteristics for a metal band but obviously, that doesn't necessarily make a band great. To be great, you need awesome music too. And that's where Aterra are heading.
Now, in all honesty I have to say that metalcore and hardcore have never been my favorite genres, although I do respect and admire the skills of many artists out there. In that aspect, Aterra might not become my favorite band but I will tell you that they made a very interesting album, one with a lot of variation, a lot of guts and a lot of power. For hard- & metalcore fans, this really is a must have.
The album opens with 'Still To Try', a track that immediately reminds me of bands like Sick Of It All, Hatebreed and many of their colleagues. Yet, there also seem to be some melodic death metal influences, mostly from the Swedish style. That combination works quite well as you can hear some excellent melodies behind a well of brute force. It's a great opener for this album, immediately showing the headbang capacity.
But there seems to be more to Aterra than just smashing some distorted guitars through your eardrums. Between most of the songs, they've placed a number of atmospheric instrumentals, some drones, some ambient stuff. These breathers are quite welcome between nutkickers like 'Paper Kings' (which could be seen as a very heavy Dog Eat Dog song), the grinding 'PW' or the punk rocker 'Voices'.
That alternation between quiet breathers and fierce hardcore metal keeps the album interesting for me. Besides, none of the songs seems to be exactly the same as the previous one, something which often is the case in this scene. 'Low', for example is a brilliant doomed post-metal track and, for that, probably my favorite track on this album. Did I mention the fact that Aterra often incorporates keyboards? No? Well, they do and they really complete this album.
So yes, I've been pleasantly surprised by this Polish quintet. Yet, I also feel that they still can do better, that they will undoubtedly grow as a band. Why? Well, there are some elements on this album that could set Aterra apart from other hard- & metalcore bands. If they find and emphasise these, I'm positive that they will become a pretty unique and genre-bending act in the near future and that they will, in their turn, influence a lot of young bands to go out there and do their thing.
Serge
