On September 12, 2025 expect some strange cosmic phenomenon, like suns being swallowed by black holes and maybe an alien invasion being launched from the rings of Saturn. September 12 is when SLOMATICS release their 8^th full-length studio album, Atomicult. At the least, your neighbors should be awoken from a deep slumber to the sound of their dishes rattling out of their cupboards and falling to their brittle deaths as the entire block violently vibrates at the mercy of your subwoofers as you play Atomicult at max volume. Just setting expectations.

The cover of Atomicult (artwork by Ryan Lesser) kind of reminds me of the cover of KING CRIMSON’s classic In the Court of the Crimson King. I mean, there’s a resemblance in the guy’s face as the madness of the void shoots forth from his eyes like twin laser beams . . . only they’re cosmic madness beams like I said. Anyway, as any good album cover should, this one sets the mood for the sonic experience to come.

Atomicult comes on slow and heavy like a chapter out of Phillip K Dick’s Exegesis. And although it’s not following an elongated narrative as with their earlier trilogy of albums, the tracks tug at your mind wanting you to stitch them together. Personally, that started to hurt my brain, so I ended up thinking of the album like an issue of Heavy Metal Magazine and the tracks as distinct sci-fi/fantasy/horror tales. Worked for me.

To my ears it seems the production values have taken an upgrade since Strontium Fields, or at least the vocal mix. Marty sounds much clearer throughout, maybe it’s an artistic choice on the band’s part or just an indication that my hearing is continuing to deconstruct, either way, good engineering all around.

Best tracks include the opener “Obey Capricorn.” I’m a sucker for Capricorn references, the planet of heavy metal, but there’s also a sinister and urgent vibe with this track, especially with the trippy outro.  “Night Grief” is another top pick for me. An intriguing track with a wandering synth and bass interlude. I mean no guitar, no drums, just bass and synth. Curious that. And finally, “Chrome Sisters” as a quintessential Doom track. Stalking, brooding, mysterious. Closing track “To Ultramegaphonium” is another standout. I love the cultish chanting at the end. BTW, want to make AI crap its pants? Ask it what ultramegaphonium means. Mine went all quiet and then it changed the topic like it was keeping something from me.

SLOMATICS. You gotta love a band whose name exactly describes what they sound like. Atomicult is another sledgehammer to the solar plexus from the heaviest band in Belfast. Great stuff.