Grunge is back, according to SMASH ATOMS, a new four piece band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They are making waves getting themselves signed to an American label. Highly influenced by the 90’s grunge scene, the band adds their own twist to give it a fresh sound. The Alice In Chains influence and sound is very prominent. The music is that slow to mid-tempo groove with heavy, crunchy guitars. The influence comes out so strong, it would be easy to see them as an Alice In Chains tribute. However there’s more to them than that. SMASH ATOMS also appeal to fans of Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Stone Temple Pilots. The band has released their self-titled debut, which contains three singles that have had radio airplay. “Bring The River” is the lead off track and one of the singles. It has a strange intro for about ten seconds that doesn’t really fit the song, even though it is repeated before the second verse. Once the song gets going, it has a slow heavy groove that is easy to get into. There’s even a solo, a bit unusual for grunge, but works well here. The solo has the kind of phrasing of a shredder solo, but has an interesting flavor played at the slower tempo.

“Buried Under The Open Sky” starts slow with clean guitars, and I’m thinking this will be a ballad or something. However, it doesn’t take long and the heavy guitars kick in again bringing the slow, heavy grinding rhythm. SMASH ATOMS changed up the song structure a bit with “Down,” which is another one of the singles. It is a bit heavier and faster than the previous songs. The song starts with the chorus and the opening line, “You’re bringing me down to the bottom of the hole.” Then the song lightens up for the verses. Glen Gilbert does a fantastic job on vocals. The third of the singles, “Into The Light,” is very grunge oriented rock. At the start, and for the verses, the guitars have a muddy grunge tone over a mid-tempo rhythm that picks up a bit for the chorus. The solo is good and with nice use of the wah pedal. “Pretend” is one of the heavier and faster songs off the album. With a different guitar tone it could easily be a metal song. It is a good song and is easy to get into. While most of the songs have that slow heavy grunge grind, there are a couple that have lighter guitars. While grunge was never one of my favorite styles, I can tell that SMASH ATOMS are good at what they do. There are some good songs on here that even I could get into.