Attomica

Judging a book by its cover is rarely an advisable approach to anything, but when it comes to the environmentally-obsessed brand of thrash metal that was making the rounds in the late 80s that yours truly has come to refer to as green thrash, seeing a cautionary depiction of impending habitat destruction usually betrayed a fairly particular sound. Having said that, trends are generally made to be defied if the history of thrash metal is any indicator, and what the Brazilian-born thrash outfit Attomica brings to the table on their debut is about as clear of an example of visual misdirection that has been seen in the metal scene since the end of the 80s. The radioactive symbol that adorns the cover has all the indications of being cut from a similar grain as Nuclear Assault's Survive (which came out about a year later), i.e. punk-driven but still largely mainline thrash with a gritty yet tone-based vocal display and lyrics dominated by political protest. But this eponymous 1987 album takes more cues from the darker fringes of thrash metal that are more in line with a number of key figures in their Brazilian homeland, alongside some extreme metal pioneers on the other side of the Atlantic.

Perhaps the best way to analogize this album visually would be as a homicidal, raging toxic mutant emerging from a nuclear testing site, with more of an emphasis on the horror that it presents to those in its immediate area rather than a lofty statement about environmental impact in a general sense. In keeping with this, the pictures presented is far darker than a typical 1987 thrash metal experience, drawing from similar early death metal territory as that of Sepultura, Sarcofago and Possessed. Likewise, the production is more fuzz driven and unbalanced, having a sort of early blackened quality that rests somewhere between the early offerings of Hellhammer or Bathory, though the riff work is a bit more advanced and has a fair bit of affinity for where Slayer was a year or two prior. The biggest indicator of stylistic divergence, however, is the high pitched, sepulchral screams of vocalist Laerte Perr. Though maybe not 100% unheard of by 1987 when accounting for how Mille Petrozza's vocals sounded on Kreator's Endless Pain and Angelripper's work on the Sodom debut, Perr's vocals have a good bit more in common with where Morbid Saint would go a year later and also even vocalists like Ihsahn and Hat in the heyday of black metal's second wave, and definitely present a radically different picture from the typical thrash paradigm of the day.

In keeping with the darker and more extreme presentation hinted at by all the aforementioned comparisons, this album definitely pulls zero punches in the neck-ruination department. Biting thrashers like the lead off song "Dying Smashed" and the menacing "Children Assassins" take heavy cues from the chaotic frenzies with occasional mid-paced respites and gradual buildups in intensity of Hell Awaits, featuring a highly involved set of riff work that dovetails with an impressive rhythm section display. Truth be told, barring the fact that the bass is a bit loud in the mix and has sort of a raunchy Lemmy Kilmister flavor to it, this album is largely a by the numbers retread of the sort of epic extreme thrashing that dominated Slayer's 1985 sophomore LP, complete with plenty of chaotic guitar solos that mirror the duels of King and Hanneman, and largely going a bit longer than the typical 3-4 minute duration that dominated both mainline thrash and even death/thrash in the late 80s. Other points of interest include the instrumental offering "Lost Time", featuring some haunting acoustic guitar noodling that preempts what Sepultura would utilize to kick off Beneath The Remains and also a thrashing groove somewhat reminiscent of Metallica at times, along with the closing number "Samurai", which in addition to being the shortest and most intense thrasher on here, features an auspicious nod to John Bonham by drummer Mário Sanefuji just before things draw to a close.

To call this album an intense experience would be an understatement, and truth be told, the only thing that really prevents this album from being quite in the same league as the seminal offerings of Slayer, Sodom and Kreator is the extremely low-fi production. Most likely the consequence of limited resources and maybe even a desire to mimic the same basic quality of sound in the Hellhammer demos, things are so raw that at times one is tempted to backtrack a few seconds because something may have been missed in the fuzzy quality of the guitars and the tinny, top-heavy drum production. With a production that more closely resembles the still raw but clearer presentation of Sepultura's Schizophrenia or maybe even Kreator's Pleasure To Kill, the potential that rests beneath the fog of this album's mix would be far easier to grab onto and enjoy. All the same, this is a pretty rock solid example of where extreme thrash was in its primordial state, obsessed with violence and insanity lyrically, and mirroring this sentiment musically at every possible turn. Mundane album art aside, this is an album that is anything but that, and one that fits in quite well among the elites of the Brazilian scene.

Attomica at first inspection comes across as some everyday thrash outfit from the 80s. Having a name and/or lyrical theme that is thrash-synonymous with nuclear and atomic themed titles amounts to numerous bands. Smothered with many bands trying to arise to the front and get recognition as well. However, if so many groups are trying to climb the same mountain, peaked with a narrow margin and a wide base. Many are bound to fall or not get very high at that. Well, Attomica sinks its teeth and claws in with their aggressive and unique first album. And hangs on. Whether they got everyone's attention is unknown, yet they prove those old bones can still deliver some hardened and cruel competition even now.

The production has a rough and unpolished layer, as well as a somewhat muffled and dirty interior sound quality to it. That wouldn't get a job application unless a bad-temperament, tattoos, motor cycles or alcoholism were acceptable norms that a particular employer was looking for. No need to closet the leather attire. Tucked in shirt? Unless you want to possibly show off your distasteful belt buckle.

When listening to the music it is hard to get around the guitars. The guitarists have edgy, almost sloppy sounding—albeit fitting in this case—aggressive and unrestrained styles of playing. They choose to interlace purposeful palm mutes into just about every other riff. The particular style isn't surprisingly technical, yet they dish out a solo quota about every song; generally with unruly, near-string-breaking havoc. On the instrumental track 'Lost Time' there is an acoustic intro that sounds innovative and plays along with a classical vibe. The drums are definitely fast for the year. He gets up to blast beat levels on occasion, usually at a particular build up in the song. Mostly he throws in mid-paced and faster thrash beats—using an every other stick hit—throughout the recording. Attomica claims in a later translated interview that they wanted to be the fastest band in the WORLD. They were occasionally fast, though presented with the final product, they luckily didn't sacrifice catchy beats and riffs for a blown-out-proportion faster style. I think the balance they found definitely works.

When I initially heard this, the vocalist surprised me, because I was anticipating a Brazilian sounding, although, cleaner and typical thrash singer. Mainly due to the plain band name and modest cover art. However, his vocals are like a higher pitched, back-of-the-throat, controlled scream. Somewhat similar to what I would expect out of a later 90's band paying tribute to the 80s, with a hybrid black-thrash playing style. But here we are with a front-man who comes out of left field with atypical vocals. For a comparative sense, treading along the lines of songs like Kreator's Total Death, Tormentor, Flag of Hate and Bonebreaker. He also has a heavy amount of reverb on them to surround and enclose the music. It gives it a present, vicious and unescapable feeling. Often he extends them too, by using a stretched emphasis on the last part of a vocal line. Furthermore, it really makes you think of a later band. Because there was a decent amount of extreme thrash bands, be it death or black, that were still using a quicker vocalization to go along with an equally rapid, musical display. This even differs from some of the deep growls and jungle-shouts that some other Brazilian extreme thrash troupes were using at the same year.

Attomica should be a surprising listen, you might of thought you picked out the more aggressive, early Brazilian death-thrash bands out of the lot already. Well, at least all of the worthy ones. However, this was a neat outfit. Part of the mentality is of course there, but this doesn't remind me in an exact sense of other extreme Brazilian groups that I've heard, except coming from the rough production at that time. Which isn't bad in any respect, and I feel, in this case, it is quite fitting and gives the intense music much more atmosphere compared to if this for some reason or another had a pristine studio recording. As well as the vocals—done by Laerte Perr, who would unfortunately leave afterwards—further add to this and are a different take back then. The only odd part, is that he doesn't vocalize as much as you would think. There are a few segments that will go for a good while before he joins back in on vocals again. Maybe their down time actually adds a level of anticipation or even mysteriousness to them. Meanwhile the musicians seem to change it up enough that you might not even notice it.

For a thoroughly quicker and more hard-hitting group, the songs average at about 5 minutes, two breaching the 6 and 1/2 minute mark as well. I'm sure they could have split up their 7 songs into 12 or 13 tracks. But with enough magnetism, to pull you closer, that the length of the songs doesn't become dull. Typical thrash, I think not.