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\u201cThis EP is dedicated to the fight. Whatever your fight may be, you will persevere.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThis EP is dedicated to the fight. Whatever your fight may be, you will persevere.\u201d<\/p>\n
That passage is printed on the inside of Atomic 26\u2019s latest EP, creatively titled, \u201cThe EP.\u201d If such a passage exists to embody five songs of music, that\u2019s as good as any \u2014 at least for this body of work, which feels like the sonic equivalent of \u2026 well \u2026 fighting the good fight. Aggressive in nature and assertive in tone, this set is filled with double kick-drum patterns, earnestly metal-tastic growls and a shredding guitar that takes no prisoners in its execution.<\/p>\n
Yet even with that considered, what makes \u201cThe EP\u201d so lasting is its pristine production. Recorded at Antithesis Studio in Sabillasville, this looks, feels and smells like a big-time recording. Heavy music can so often be watered down by lackluster production, the bass not chugging the way it should and the vocals not dominating as much as they need to in order for the music to get the listener\u2019s best shot. Here, though, the performances are spotless, the end product impeccable.<\/p>\n
All that begins with \u201cRelentless.\u201d Stepping to the plate with only guitar and vocals, it instantly grabs your attention because of how menacing everything sounds. When the vocals expand from simply scary to downright demented, you know you\u2019re in for a treat, especially considering how taxing such an approach to vocals can be. Sprinkle in a desolate palm-muted rock guitar middle section and the anticipation rises with each note. Once the rest of the band returns to the party with an inescapable six-string riff, all bets are off on how irresistible this stuff can be.<\/p>\n
Which is why there\u2019s so much to value here. Like the crunchy radio rock best heard from bands like Breaking Benjamin or Three Days Grace? Check \u201cSubstrate,\u201d which is relatively tame when compared with its brethren. Featuring a mid-tempo alt-rock groove, this isn\u2019t not something you could hear on DC 101 some day. Not only is the screaming half-abandoned, but the chorus opens up in ways that ought to make you nostalgic for the late-\u201890s music festival scene.<\/p>\n
How about something a little heavier, made for the side stage at Ozzfest? \u201cCircle\u201d might be for you, with its pugnacious vocals ticking up the angst ever so slightly. Better yet is the double-kick drum that paints the chorus, anchoring the chaos that\u2019s unfolding around it, the singer exploding in rage before a smooth bridge takes hold and calms the production down. By the time the pedal pounding returns to close out the track, you\u2019ll need to regroup with a long, well-earned exhale.<\/p>\n
Even that pales in comparison, however, to the final song here, \u201cWrongway.\u201d The set\u2019s clear crescendo, it furthers the narrative that these guys chose the track-listing smartly, seemingly building to an explosion of a finale that leaves it all on the stage without a single ounce of energy left unused. Bursting through the door with a punk-rock tempo, the growls feel more worn and the guitars more assured before the halfway point changes everything on a dime, trading punk for rock in the way the genre used to before Fall Out Boy came along and messed it up for everybody.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s \u201cHarder They Fall,\u201d which is, without question, the poppiest these guys get. Thundering drums and a simple guitar riff can take you a long, long way, and this trio utilizes that notion to its fullest extent, crafting a song that should make early-era Papa Roach proud. \u201cNever back down,\u201d you hear in effects-laden vocals during the hook and the lyric cements this band and these songs as the ultimate inspirational, seize-the-day combination, tight, crunchy guitars and all.<\/p>\n
Those words also reiterate the relevance of the opening mantra: \u201cThis EP is dedicated to the fight. Whatever your fight may be, you will persevere.\u201d Cliched? Maybe. But with \u201cThe EP,\u201d Atomic 26 establishes itself as a band that practices what it preaches. Unapologetically antagonistic and deliciously energetic, these are songs built for Soldierfit classes everywhere \u2014 hard enough to keep your endorphins flowing and stubborn enough to ensure you never give up.<\/p>\n
Fighting the good fight, indeed.<\/p>\n
** 2 1\/2 STARS OUT OF 4 **<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThis EP is dedicated to the fight. Whatever your fight may be, you will persevere.\u201d That passage is printed on the inside of Atomic 26\u2019s latest EP, creatively titled, \u201cThe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1138524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1138523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1138523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1138524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1138523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1138523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1138523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}