Hailing from Western Ireland, one man atmospheric metal act Atlantic unleash the fury of the ocean with their debut demo Torrents. A fitting name for such a release as its a torrent of emotions, beauty, and furiosity that represents the Atlantic its self. A atmospheric fusion of post-metal and just a slight touch of black metal to really push the raw and naturalistic aspects of this release make for a very impactful debut and something I know I’ll be following in the future.
There’s a lot of progression and build up in this album. A growing wave of force through a steady pace of atmospheric and ethereal guitar riffs and fast paced and hard hitting blast beats to really get the pace going. The 5 lengthy tracks flow together really well, with strong songwriting the release does not get tiring to listen to what so ever. Kind of reminds me of early releases from bands like Isis, Agalloch, or Amenra. Something about the vocals remind me of those bands. Harsh and raw, but filled with melancholy and emotion. The second track With the Waves is a great example of such. With a memorable hook with some emotional and angsty lyrics that you just can’t help but enjoy. There’s even a short synth section on the fourth track, showing off the range that Atlantic has to offer. A great somber touch to a rather heavy song, as immediately after the stillness of the synths drag you down below the sea in its torrential dark waters with blast beats and heavy riffs. A solid track indeed.
This is a very strong release that really captures its own sort of approach. The band self labels them selves as ‘atmospheric black metal’ on their Bandcamp page, but I feel as though there’s a bit more to it than that. Sure the blast beats and harsh vocals are easy to label it as black metal, but Torrents is a mixture of many different sounds and influences that make it a great listen to those who enjoy metal in general. The tracks don’t feel too long despite them all being well over 5 minutes as each track truly stands on its own as a great piece. Would highly recommend giving this a listen, especially on those hot summer days by the ocean. It’ll help remind yourself just how small you are compared to it all.