Atma Weapon

Review Summary: Atma Weapon proves they're just as skilled at concise songs as progressive epics.

The great thing about a debut album based around a half-hour progressive rock epic is that when the time for your sophomore album rolls around, it has very little to prove. Atma Weapon’s 2013 debut Dark Tower was an incredibly ambitious and striking release, showing a level of instrumental skill and cohesive songwriting that progressive bands rarely display on their first album.

But despite the quality of the album’s epic title suite, it was the two standalone tracks - “Dark Dreamer” and “Miss Misery” - that were the most immediately compelling material on Dark Tower. With The Fields Where Nothing Grows, Atma Weapon has delivered a whole album expanding on the more concise progressive stylings of these songs, and it’s just as impressive as I’d hoped.

Amma Weapon's musical style hasn’t changed much from their debut album, which is fine by me - their progressive hard rock approaches my ideal musical genre, and expands on the sound of their debut just like I’d hoped. The biggest difference is that Fields is a noticeably less heavy record compared to its predecessor, embracing the band’s more melodic inclinations while offering plenty of powerful, driving riffs. There are some harsh vocals on a few tracks, but for the most part singer/rhythm guitarist Mick Armstrong sticks to a classic heavy metal style of soaring vocals that will immediately appeal to fans of Iron Maiden, Ozzy, and Dio. However, it’s worth noting that his range seems to have greatly expanded since Dark Tower, and there’s a lot more variety to his singing than on the first album - particular evident on “Every Ship,” which is probably the standout vocal performance of the album.

If Dark Tower had any real weakness, it was simply a limited amount of variety - being an album that ultimately consisted of three songs. With Fields, Atma Weapon gets to flex their impressive songwriting chops, imbuing each distinct track with progressive flourishes that more concisely accomplish Dark Tower’s ambitions. "Everything You Won’t" and "Clear Blue Skies” are thrilling tunes fueled by Cameron Johnson’s spiraling guitar riffs, and although Johnson remains the star of Atma Weapon’s sonic assault, there’s plenty of great drumming and bass playing (like on the intro to “Autumn’s Leaves.") Carefully-composed songs keep Atma Weapon from tiresome instrumental wankery, making their riffs and solos much more powerful as a result - like on the instrumental “The Wasteland."

For a fairly young band, Atma Weapon has done an impressive job of creating their own distinct sound, which is fleshed out on their sophomore album. “Fields of Sorrow” is a standout track propelled by Iron Maiden-esque power riffs, and “Clear Blue Skies” has some of Johnson’s best riffs, leads, and chord progressions on the album. What makes Atma Weapon one of the most impressive young metal bands is their incredible sense of melodicism, which makes even their most complex moments immediately appealing, and importantly expands their appeal far beyond fellow musicians. It’s also worth noting that the album’s production sound fantastic, much like its predecessor.

Fields is undoubtedly a more accessible album than Dark Tower, but what’s impressive is that Atma Weapon achieved this without any sense that they’re compromising their musical vision. This is an album where a band takes their fully-realized musical style and deliberately aims for a different goal, and it works quite well. As much as I like Fields, I’m not sure that any moment quite matches the brilliance of "Miss Misery" or "Dark Tower V,” but whether your taste inclines toward early Rush, NWOBHM, or more recent progressive acts like Porcupine Tree, The Fields Where Nothing Grows has a lot to offer. - Sputnik Music

This week’s featured band is Atma Weapon –a progressive metal/rock four piece from North Carolina.



Since the formation back in 2011, the band has gone through several member changes. Fortunately the line-up has been fairly stable for the past three or so years. The current line up stands as guitarists Mick Armstrong (who is also on vocals) and Cameron Johnson, Brandon Allen on drums and Billy Guynn on bass.

This September saw the band release The Fields Where Nothing Grows, a follow up of their 2013 debut album, Atma WeaponDark Tower, and it has been met with nothing but praise. One major difference between the two records is that it was solely Cameron who had written the music for Dark Tower while The Fields Where Nothing Grows was a group effort:

Cameron “With The Fields Where Nothing Grows, the entire band was able to really add input and we were able to kind of ‘find our sound.’ It was much more of a collaborative effort as compared to Dark Tower.”

Because they took a new and different approach when writing The Fields Where Nothing Grows, it is reflected in its sound and song writing. The two albums certainly differ from each other:

Cameron: “If I had to compare the two in terms of sound, Dark Tower is more proggy and raw, while [The] Fields [Where Nothing Grows] is more mature and refined.”

There is one similarity is that both albums share: they were not recorded at a professional studio. Instead, they were both recorded at Cameron’s house. However, the two records were mix and mastered by Jamie King at The Basement Recording who has worked with the likes of Between the Buried and Me, The Contortionist and The Human Abstract.



When asked, the band had found it hard to pinpoint which artists influenced the sound of their new album in particular. This was mainly because each member has a one-of-a-kind taste in bands and artists and each member brings different influences to the table:

Mick: “That’s a hard one. Each of us has our own unique tastes in music and what influences us. I love everything: Pantera, Rancid, Johnny Cash all the way to Pink….So, there’s really no telling, haha.”

Cameron: “I’m big into the usual metal suspects like Opeth, Metallica, etc… but I also love jazz artists like Pat Metheny, who is my all-time favorite guitar player.”

Keep a look out for their new music video for “Clear Blue Skies” which is to be released next month. Judging by the teasers the band has shared on Facebook; it will definitely be a video worth checking out! The storyline was written by Billy and the video had been directed by Italy-based Andrea Tani. Filmed using live footage, the band made chose to film in the countryside by the woods far away from where they all live. They made do with what ‘set’ was already there: an abandoned trailer and three feet tall grass. Despite the bad whether when filming and having to roll around in the mud, the band admits that it was a lot of fun. They are definitely looking forward to when the video is finally released:

Mick: “I’m actually a little nervous of how the end result is going to be. Not because of the direction, but because we all had to step out of our comfort zones with this one, especially myself. But, Andrea is awesome at what he does, so I’m sure he’s going to do a killer job. We’re hoping to release it sometime in December.”



Now that Atma Weapon have released their new album and have a music video coming out soon, they are now planning to get back on the road again and start touring once more. If you like what you hear, get in touch with a promoter in your local music scene and see if they can organise it for Atma Weapon to perform in your area.

Also, be sure to check out more of their music on Bandcamp. And don’t forget to like them on Facebook.

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