A Sunday Conversation with The Atlas Moth

Catapulting itself into the number 2 spot on Pope’s year end best of list, the Candlelight Records debut from The Atlas Moth, A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky, became so revered that two copies of the blue vinyl disc have made their way into the Ripple collection. But the real question becomes, why is it so revered? Is it really that good? The short answer is yes. For more details, we lured Stavros (guitarist/vocalist) to spend a few minutes on the red leather interview couch. Sit back and find out what The Atlas Moth tick.

The music on A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky is equally brutal as it is beautiful, as song writers, how did you know where to incorporate more brutality or to add a line of melody to create such elegant texture? Is it just a feeling, or is there a loose formulaic structure that you use?


Our writing process is very organic. Usually one of us has a riff and brings it into rehearsal and we just jam from there. Very little is predetermined, and we all pretty much write all our own parts, that is just what happens when all of us get into a room and play.


When you write a piece of music, do you consciously write from the mind set of being different than what's out there now?


We don't ever set out to sound like anything. Like I said, everything is very organic and felt out through repetition during rehearsals. There is not much thought put into what we are going to sound like although, there is a lot of scrutiny over an end product. We tear apart songs and start over and rewrite sometimes until we are happy with them but there isn't a constant thought of trying to be different, this is just what we sound like.

When I reviewed A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky, I described your music as the best horror movie that I’ve ever listened to. Was I supposed to be scared or was simply jumping at shadows? What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?


We want the listener to feel something. We would rather have someone absolutely hate us than not feel anything when listening to us. Andrew was the guy who did all the interludes and locked himself in the studio during mixing and brought all of that to life for us. This record encapsulates a period of time for each of us personally and as well as a band and I think that comes across and what you're feeling is just what we were going through making that record. How each of us was feeling throughout.



Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?


At the risk of sounding cheesy, life in general. I get inspired but reading a book, watching a movie, hearing something said...it doesn't matter.

What piece of your music are you particularly proud of?

"...Leads To A Lifetime on Mercury." That was the last song written and is by far my favorite. I feel that song currently sums up what The Atlas Moth is.

The business of music can be brutal. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?


Well we are still sorta in a transition stage as a band. I have been touring for so long, even before this band, that being broke and on the road isn't really anything new. We are just gonna keep doing what we have always done. We have a pretty busy 2010 touring schedule planned and we're gonna keep busy writing a new record. We love playing in this band and we are all such close friends. As long as this is fun, it’s really easy to remain motivated regardless of people downloading your music. I download music but I also buy stuff that strikes a particular chord and that's what I hope we do for people.



Who are some of the more obscure artists that may have influenced your sound?


I don't really know how to judge obscure as there are a lot of bands I think everyone knows about but I then find out it's not the case. I will say Envy and The Angelic Process.

Anyone who has spent more than a couple of minutes in the music business has had a Spinal Tap moment or two. What’s one of your great Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?


We were given an address of a punk house on tour that we could crash at. These, although appreciated and awfully convenient, are usually some of the nastiest places on earth to crash but it’s always welcomed. We pull up to the address, see a dude that was at the show outside and decide to park. Andrew, Tony, our tour manager Joe, and myself walk into this house and it’s not gross at all. Totally shocked, we all started getting comfortable, people are using washrooms and looking through fridges. I go as far as to get ready to pass out on the couch. At this point, Andrew felt as though he should go out to the bonfire in the back and let the people who supposedly live there know we are crashing in the living room. Next thing I know, Andrew is busting through the front door yelling "WRONG HOUSE! LET'S GO!" Apparently the address we had was a number off and we were supposed to be staying in the rat infested shit hole next door. Duh.


Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?


Vinyl hands down. I dig actively listening to music.



We, at The Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. When we come to your town, what's the best record store to visit?


Well as far as metal goes, Metal Haven is the way to go. Vinyl, CDs, Shirts...they have every obscure metal band you have never heard of. As far as everything else goes, Reckless Records has a few different locations that are all excellent.



Any words of wisdom for the Waveriders (our readers?)


"If your bitch is in my shit, then its your bitch you check" - Dr. Dre....Words to live by, friends.

Monday Morning Metal Report: Featuring Månegarm, Noriega, and Viatrophy

Well alright . . . this is my first post of the New Year and it seems somewhat fitting that it’s gonna’ be all about my favorite form of music. Seriously . . . what better way to start off the week, let alone the year, than to have ones ears sheared off by the metallic sounds of death, destruction, and the sinister laugh of the Dark One himself? This particular episode features three bands from all over the globe who are showing us that there are multiple levels on which a band can be brutal, beautiful, and create mayhem with a series of inter-related notes. The ideas aren’t all that new, so you Old Dogs can go back to gnawing on your bones, but the execution of said ideas are well done and compelling. Shotgun that Monster drink (ach!) or a 20 ounce cup of espresso, strap yourselves into your comfy chair, and enjoy some blistering sounds that we’ve stumbled on for 2010.

Månegarm – Nattväsen

Described as pagan/folk metal, this Swedish outfit should have been in my year end top ten. There’s just something about music that combines explosive metallic moments with beautifully uplifting melodies that gets me air drumming and singing at no one in particular. Månegarm quite simply took me to the frosted hills of their homeland, planted me in a rustic, dimly lit tavern, placed a plate of fire roasted mutton on the table and poured me a tankard of ale, and then proceeded to regale me with tales of shadows, and creatures of the night, and wisdom of the ancient ones, and mountains, and Viking ships doing battle with sea storms, and . . . my God, this is awesome! By the time I got through listening to Nattväsen, I felt like I had my arms draped over the shoulders of burly and very hairy men garbed in animal skins, all in celebration of our grand heritage.

If you’re not singing along with the melodic vocal intro to “Mina Faders Hall,” well . . . you’re just dead inside. The sing-along intro quickly disappears and an explosion of guttural vocals and tight guitars power the opening track in rip roaring fashion. Partially black metal, partially power metal, Månegarm do a fantastic job of taking this listener out of his self and catapulting him to a land that time forgot. The guitar work is well executed between the heavy power riffs and the soaring guitar solos, the drums are up tempo, bordering on speed metal, and the vocals are a well balanced affair of violence and serenity. What I also appreciate from this song is the nifty little pieces of nuance that they throw into the song . . . a quick break here, a cymbal strike there . . . little things that add to the dynamics. “Nattsjall-Dromsjal” picks up where the first song left off. Up tempo thrashing riffs that shift to a great quasi- Celtic melodic chorus powered by what sounds like a violin. Once the song breaks near the mid-point, it becomes more readily apparent that this violin sound is actually an effect laden guitar. This song goes from a tavern sing-along to a massive battle waged on muddy soil within seconds as the break takes on a more ominous and thrashing sound.

While the whole album takes the listener on a fantastic voyage shifting between folk-y melodies and dark metal tones, it’s almost as if Månegarm saved the best until last. “Delling,” though still combining all of the elements of the album thus far, is driven by acoustic guitars and takes on more of the folk qualities. Accented by violins and swirling background sounds, this song actually reminds me a bit of Simon & Garfunkel and “Scarborough Fair,” just heavier and more dynamic. A song about hope for a new day, “Delling” is sung completely in Swedish and is one of those songs that touches the emotions. I feel a tightness in my chest every time I hear the melody to this one and it just goes to show the universal power of music. You don’t necessarily need to know what they’re singing about for the emotional power of the music to work its magic. Let the music take hold of your imagination and create the story for yourselves. www.myspace.com/manegarm

 

Noriega – Desolo

Los Angeles based Noriega simply aren’t afraid to bludgeon your ears into bloodied stubs. Desolo is a piece of hardcore fused metal that feels as angry as it sounds. What I found most interesting about this EP, though, was the bands approach to creating space within the dense walls of aggressive bombast and adding a sense of musicality to the sheer brutality. To say that these guys are reinventing the wheel would be a stretch, but let’s listen in a bit before we stamp Noriega as a one trick pony. Amidst the angst ridden flurries and vocal tantrums, the music breaks long enough for us to breathe and the band to slide in odd elements of jazz and off-time progression. So, once I picked up on this, the complexion of Desolo completely changed. You’re gonna’ yell at me until I’m coated in a fine spray of spittle? Fine. Just do it with a little class so that I can take you serious. Noriega could be the poster child for just such an approach.

Check out “Bernard” and how these guys have found that almost perfect formula of mixing a sonic beat down with huge movements of musicality. The off time start/stops that work in contrasts with the droning distorted frenzy remind me of Voivod doing a tango with Hatebreed while Henry Rollins is impatiently waiting, tatted arms crossed and scorn on his face, trying to add his own flavor to the movement. It’s an awesome song in that regard, but as the song seems to blend into “Detriment,” one begins to realize that what started off as a tango has suddenly erupted into a full-fledged bar fight and someone forgot to invite Burt Reynolds. The textures that Noriega use enhances the song in ways that only well executed textures can. A straight up sonic walloping would have be fine for those hardcore kids who are one dimensional and are angry for all the wrong reasons. Noriega sound angry because they actually care and that, my friends, is power. I go back to Rollins on this track. “Detriment” has that raw, scab pulled off a fresh wound kind of feel to it. But there’s an element of sensitivity, and I don’t mean the pretty flowers or cuddly kitten kind of sensitivity. This is the kind of sensitivity that makes breathing painful . . . the kind of sensitivity that makes every waking moment the ultimate challenge in tolerance towards the weak. “Life By Myself?” Forget about it. Pick up the EP and listen to it for yourself. Talk about pain! Sheeesh! www.myspace.com/noriegaband

Viatrophy – Viatrophy

Candlelight Records seems to keep finding the most compelling and interesting acts in the metal world. Viatrophy are a British death metal outfit that I’ve found much more palatable than a lot of the like-minded bands within the UK scene. Reason being . . . they change things up. I’m not being senselessly beaten into a puddle of jelly for the entire album. Viatrophy bring in elements of serenity, as noted in the opening track, ”Lux Et Tenebris,” before they unleash a world of hurt. But even within the blast beat melee, the band changes things up enough to keep the whole experience interesting. It always comes back to the dynamics, folks. Ultimately, it was the musicality of this outfit that won me over.

“Mistress of Misery,” brutal as brutal can possibly get, shows how Viatrophy mix in great elements of musicality by changing up the tempo and using some off time signatures. The vocals would certainly drain most people of life, but I’m good with it. Guttural vocals mixed with a more angst ridden voice work extremely well together, and all while the music shifts from a detuned and distorted scrum. Check out “Seas of Storms” and hear how these guys work in a nice quiet portion in the middle of the chaotic frenzy. That’s what I’m talking about! This song shows a perfect use of dynamics and an element that keeps things interesting. And then, as the song keeps rolling to completion, the vocals become more and more manic all while a creepy guitar melody swells in the background. Excellent!

“Scenes of Extended Peril” is the outstanding track from this disc, purely because Viatrophy refuse to stay boxed in a realm of standard sounds, time signatures, and ideas. Opening with a massive volley of drums and odd rhythms, the band throws itself into a thrashing pit of violence, providing just enough space in the chaos for us to catch our collective breaths before bursting into a sonically, though technically compelling passage. Then, with one guitar riffing away in the right speaker, joined shortly after by the second guitar in the left, Viatrophy pummel us with an awesome off time groove that slowly evaporates into an atmospheric, uplifting jazzy piece. Where the hell did that come from? Pay close attention to the rhythm section as they tap into some bizarre place for inspiration and execute a breath taking little jam. That, my friends, is what gets my blood pumping on a Monday morning! I don’t need coffee today . . . I have Viatrophy! www.myspace.com/viatrophy

Pope JTE

Forest Stream – The Crown of Winter

Way back in nineteen eighty whatever, most U.S. adolescents pretty much thought that Russia was just this big land mass somewhere to the east, er . . . west, uh . . . east and west of us, that practiced a pretty piss poor civil rights policy. I know I didn’t know squat about the country other than they had a lot of nuclear warheads aimed at me (I lived in a military town, so it stands to reason that I would have been one the first recipients of said warhead.) It wasn’t until we had all that hoopla of Glasnost and the Wall coming down that I started to recognize the rich culture that Russia had tucked away in its frozen nether regions. No longer was I ashamed of my Russian heritage, and now, I embrace it with a weird sense of pride. So, how thrilled was I when I received the second full length release from Forest Stream through some contacts with Candlelight Records? About as thrilled as when Alex Ovechkin scores a goal!

For years, I’ve watched the Scandinavian countries produce one epic metal band after another. I’ve seen Greece produce more than its fair share of stunning power and doom metal. Recently, France has blown up with its low end fueled experimental sounds. Is it time for another wall to come crumbling down? Will Russia be the next great land of heavy metal expression? Man . . . wouldn’t that be something!

The Crown of Winter is deathly metallic and ethereally ambient at the same time. Forest Stream work in great musicianship to their complex and highly emotive compositions. In a lot of ways, this album can be thought of as a thinking man’s record, because there is so much going on in the way of shifting textures and haunting moods. There are massive time changes, odd time signatures, and heady themes that make this disc quite comfortable nestling up next to your favorite prog-metal albums. Is it totally fresh and original? Sadly, no. But the music is performed at such a high level that the Opethian melodies and Akerfeldt-like vocal barks don’t bother me as much as they would if performed by a less than able unit. Yes, there are Opeth similarities to the sounds, and by no means does Forest Stream come across like a cheap knock off of the Swedish metal masters. There’s something else a bit less tangible mixed into the music that gives these guys their own individuality, a strange new voice in way of modern metal.

After a beautifully emotional ambient build up as an introduction, Forest Stream launch into the eleven and a half minute title track of the album. Huge waves of distortion crash down upon the delicate plinking of the piano keys, cannon fire drums punch holes through said wave of guitars, and then the instruments swim like a playful school of fish, darting around one another in a roaring sea of sound. The vocals join the dance with a strange sense of sadness, suddenly making everything seem so desolate and hollow. Then, in classic death metal fashion, the vocals shift to that of a perturbed and unfed bear fresh from its winter hibernation. What a great dynamic shift! Amidst the flurries of metallic notes soaring through the soundscape, various melodies weave in and out of the chaos, sending this song to some higher plain. Then, it all goes away. The storm vanishes and leaves us hearing a gorgeous clean tones guitar plaintively strumming chords over a huge synthesizer passage. Absolutely beautiful work in how the band wrapped all of these sounds and themes around each other to create such an epic song! For all intents and purposes, this has to be categorized in with prog-metal, and some of the finest that I’ve heard.

Following the album opener, “Mired” bursts from the speakers with double bass drums afire and a triumphant melody line to lend an interesting contrast to the barrage of death riffagry, and then . . . whoa. Forest Stream lay down a mind blowing goth-y sort of soft passage filled that has shades of Katatonia mixed in the emotion. It’s dark and eerie, bordering on creepy. The kind of music that might work well in digging a grave to bury one’s lost beloved. Though this moment is short lived, the oncoming death metal pummeling is a perfect fit and moves the song along nicely. The vocals and melodies on this track remind me of Opeth, blackened in a fiery pit of hate and individual torture. The clean toned guitars towards the middle of the song fooled me for a brief minute into thinking I was hearing a piano adding further texture. Awesome! Way to keep me guessing! I absolutely love it when a band challenges me with the use of sounds and odd time arrangements. Nothing sucks more than predictable music. Well, other than utterly terrible music.

It’s basically like this, folks. The Crown of Winter is progressive death metal. That’s about as simple as I can put it. Ultimately, this album is an example of excellent execution in composition, musical arrangement, and instrumentation, all of which make up for the music’s somewhat lack of originality. Also, the conveyance of emotion is superb. While listening to this album, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the bleakness, the solitude, the despair. I can feel the tortured souls on this recording and I like it! It makes me want to pack up all of my earthly belongings and set sail on an old Norse ship, or to live out of a vibrantly colored wagon in the foothills of the Ural Mountains. And, maybe more importantly, Forest Stream make me want to visit Russia and explore even further the musical treasures that are hidden from the masses of America. If you need me, I’ll be surfing the net . . . Googling Russian metal bands and seeing what comes up next. - Pope JTE

www.myspace.com/foreststreamband