Between The Day & I is a masterclass clinic in impactful songwriting and delivery from ATLASES
Release date: June 2, 2023 | Lifeforce Records | Facebook | Bandcamp
With both time and the sheer amount of music that I have listened to across many years, I find myself reliably gravitating towards artists that prioritize crafting compelling songs with dynamic structures over anything else. A well written track goes infinitely farther than something that is packed excessively with disjointed ideas and musical tropes just because it sounds cool. In the seemingly endless sea of metal bands out there, it’s not an easy task to find bands that don’t invest all their effort in riffs and breakdowns because that’s what the masses want to hear. If you’ve taken the time to click and read this article, then I’ll do you a favor and introduce you to a band that you likely haven’t heard before that is well worth listening to, ATLASES.
The instant gratification that flashy instrumentals and aesthetically shiny production provides continues to lose its appeal as it’s clear there is little to no substance underneath it all. Now, I am much more impressed when I find an artist can compose cohesive and dynamic songs that are ripe with substance. When this happens, you get a collection of tracks that together feel like a proper album experience, full of a wide variety of songs that each offer something different whilst following a central musical theme that holds the music like glue. This is what separates the good albums from the great albums and what we have here for you today is the latter.
All you need to know about this Finnish group is that they make some stellar post-metal tunes, as was evident on their previous release and full-length debut, Woe Portrait. I’ve had my eyes on them ever since discovering that phenomenal record as it is a melancholic journey to the fullest extent. This new release shows ATLASES continuing on their upwards trajectory with yet another collection of songs that is emotionally eviscerating in every which way.
As evident on Woe Portrait, ATLASES‘ music is difficult to put under a single genre descriptor, as they take a little bit from post, prog, and atmospheric metal, with a few touches of post rock and metalcore and plenty of other stylistic embellishments sprinkled throughout. These types of genre-fluid records that refuse to be pigeonholed to a single style are almost always a cut above the rest; ATLASES is no exception. One thing that does feel a little different on Between The Day & I compared to its predecessor is the slight industrial edge that is constantly lingering in the background, with eerie synthwork and beefy, somewhat robotic guitar tones.
While not ostentatious by any means, ATLASES are without a doubt incredibly proficient when it comes to the instrumental department. “Eyelids of the New Dawn” kicks the record off with a neat little drum fill before this chilling wall of sound pummels you into the ground and then lifts you back up with tender, clean passages that follow. They make it very clear from the start that they’re not here to mess around. The vocals are incredibly well done, as it is a blast to hear the two harsh vocalists play off of one another as if it was in a live setting. Additionally, many songs that do feature clean vocals often have said harsh vocals harmonizing in the background, as heard on “Singulars”, “Silent Threads”, and “Ties to Distance”, only making these moments all the more impactful.
Tracks like “Singulars”, “Mosaic of Silence”, and “Imperial Dark” are absolute groovefests with bouncy riffs that will be sure to get the adrenaline coursing in your blood. Meanwhile others, such as “Save Room”, “Intermission”, and the opening track shows the band dialing it back to drench you in gorgeously thick soundscapes. Although it is an interlude track, I could listen to “Intermission” for hours as it reminds me highly of M83’s iconic Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming with how warm it makes me feel inside.
Throughout the rest of the record are very well-placed musical accents, like the dramatic string stacattos in “Imperial Dark”, the bright and cheery what-I’m-assuming is xylophone in “Silent Threads”, and the swelling of what sounds like a telephone in the atmospheric bits of “Save Room”. This final example reminds me highly of the telephone-esque ringing throughout Cult of Luna’s “Finland”, off of the legendary Somewhere Along The Highway and that will never not put a fat smile on my face.
Although this year has been packed to the brim with fantastic musical releases, ATLASES have crafted an album that is one of the few to have truly resonated with me. Between The Day & I is filled with so much emotion and solemnity that it evokes so many musical memories that are associated with other artists and records that hold a special place in my heart. ATLASES sound is something that is entirely their own, yet it very clearly draws inspiration from some of the best around, so the fact that I get sucked into listening to all these records is a trip down memory lane that I am beyond grateful to have had. Then I go back to ATLASES and the glorious listening cycle begins again!
