Band:	Atoma
Album:	Skylight
Style:	Post-rock, Post-metal
Release date:	March 2012

01. Atoma
02. Skylight
03. Hole In The Sky
04. Highway
05. Bermuda Riviera
06. Resonance
07. Solaris
08. Rainmen
09. Saturn & I
10. Cloud Nine

We're all still alive it seems. There was no apocalypse for us as 2012 came to a close but the year did treat us with a premeditated glimpse of how things may have turned out in its aftermath with this compelling piece of post metal by Atoma.

Eight years ago the band Slumber produced an album of melodic doom entitled Fallout, it being their only full length release. It is truly sorrowful in its musical expression of humanity in its death throes. From such an end emerges a new beginning; forming from the remnants of Slumber are Atoma gracing us with this debut effort which they label as "post-apocalyptic" metal.

Residual elements of Slumber's uniquely spacey atmosphere are used to their fullest capacity on Skylight as they emanate from the electronically enhanced melodies. There is a resemblance in the guitar work as Jari Lindholm, previously of Slumber, carries on among the trio of guitarists who weave their melodic magic through the densely layered atmosphere. Some tracks express this electronic array more earnestly, such as "Bermuda Riviera", "Solaris" and "Cloud Nine", whereas others like "Hole In The Sky" follow a more determined rhythmic pattern in which the post rock/metal guitar lines are more formative.

The album is characterised by simple yet impressively climactic drum patterns which emerge from and into thoroughly immersive ambient passages. The vocal work is wonderfully diverse as it fills the atmospherically spatial void whether it is those of keyboardist Ehsan Kalantarpour, guitarist Christian Alvestam or those placed within the well conceived backing orchestrations. The title track for instance bears the inclusion of harsh to clean vocals which are highly emotive and enable the riffs and electronic patterns to strike out in spectacular fashion like an aged star's final burst of light.

The way many tracks merge together to form a composite whole enhances the general atmosphere, though those after some more solidified metal will have to traverse this post-apocalyptic environment in search of it. Initially though you won't have to traverse very far as the metal is more prevalent of the first half of the album, which also grants something more to the replay value of the earlier tracks as opposed to the latter which may seem to drag in comparison in its tendency for a thicker saturation of electronic ambient elements.

However, once you've witnessed the awe inspiring imagery this album conjures up it's likely you'll never want to leave.