If I have one complaint on this EP it’s that it wasn’t longer!
Progressive Hard-Rock monsters Atria, established in 2018 from Ontario, Canada have set new boundaries on combining melody and catastrophe with their debut 4-track EP New World Nightmare. With influence from Tool, Slipknot, and In Flames these guys will surely leave your neck feeling sore!
Opening the record with their album-titled track "New World Nightmare" we are greeted with eerily melodic hums, static, wind chimes, and unearthly vocals building to a ring… Followed by a crushing verse of double bass, palm-muted guitars, and symphonic lead guitars! You could compare Tom Emmans’ vocals to artists like Corey Taylor (Slipknot) and Matthew Tuck (Bullet For My Valentine). With an abundance of punishing riffs and quick drum work this track easily depicts Atria’s brand.
Track #2, "Someone With Me", opening with natural harmonics on the guitar, Similar to “Obelisk” by Northlane, and quick “tchk tchk’s” on the cymbals, this track almost reminds you of early ambient metalcore from the late 2000’s while still maintaining their signature face-melting guitar solo! - Easily one of my personal favorites on the record. - You can truly sense the beautiful tension in Tom’s voice that adds to this bands iconic image that they do so well to portray. This track is easily one of the more melodic and symphonically technical tracks on the EP.
As one of the more metalcore-ish songs, Track 3 "Less Than Equal", Sounds like a mixture of Breaking Benjamin and As I Lay Dying. This track starts up with a classic hardcore feeling riff that jumps right into a verse accompanied by grotesquely beautiful vocals and a minor chord progression. This track would do well to cater to fans of bands like As I Lay Dying and Breaking Benjamin, as strange of a combination that may be! The originality from this band is truly impeccable.
As the EP concludes, we are left with one last beast by the name of "Follow You Home". This being a “No-bullshit’ track from the get-go, you get everything you could ask for from a hard rock/ metalcore band in a sense of clean vocals, unclean vocals, dark connotations, melodic choruses, and technical verses. In turn, this album is a crushing masterpiece from start to finish. This band is one that will truly turn heads!
Released November 16, 2018
Atria Is:
Tim Ross (guitar)
Brent Westmoreland (bass)
Tom Emmans (vocals)
Matt McGuire (drums)
Travis McGinnis (guitar)
