Customer Reviews

Atomic Ritual

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought Atomic Ritual at random, as I was in the mood for something new. Let me say, this cd is rather interesting. At first listen, Atomic Ritual seems like a another pop rock cd, but multiple listenings reveal the quality of the disc. Sure, some songs do not seem to go anywhere, but some are shimmering with genious. The opener is an awesome song. The lead build up with is an agressive intro. It feels as if you are being pulled through a black hole at warp speed. Nebula takes some time to calm and creates some mellow moments. One of them, Fin, is a rather peaceful instrumental that shows that the band has a flair for melody. Nebula is a great band, although there are defintely other cds worth getting. At times they do not seem to be all original. Still, if you are a fan of Kyuss or even Queens of the stone Age, then Atomic Ritual may be right up your alley. In a time where music like this gets little recognition, Nebula is a welcome addition to anyone's library.

The stoner rock genre is ever expanding and including broader and increasingly more vague characteristics which has actually been more helpful to the overall style of music than harmful, thereby keeping it fresh. However, every genre has a nucleus and while many will argue that Kyuss is exactly that, Nebula has moved into the driver's seat in the 21st Century and are driving the machine forward nicely.

Nothing Nebula has released thus far has been anything short of brilliant but the total package lies within this latest release. Not in quite a long time have I seen packaging so inviting and well done. The cardboard digipak with silver embossing outshines most records spewed forth by lesser bands with much larger propaganda machines propelling them. Layout-wise, this upstart label has already outdone themselves with this infant release by a fast rising star of the stoner rock underground.

Nebula leaves nothing to be desired here. Their trademark sound that melds 60s psychadelia, 70s rock, 80s punk with a slight Seattle tinge and modern finesse is intact with firm precision. Their music is energetic and to be equally enjoyed by fans of heavy music and admirers of all things rock. The lads in Nebula have a keen ear for making three men sound like thirty while never overdoing any one thing and call me overzealous but I think in modern rock music, Eddie Glass is finding a nice slot for himself in the upper echelon of guitar masters as he bashes out supersonic blues scales with complete dexterity.

I guess it would be unfair to expect anything mindblowing from Nebula when their recordings prior have been exactly that and more. For once, "more of the same" is a good thing.

NO. TIME ARTIST TRACK_TITLE
1 4:14 Nebula Atomic Ritual
2 3:54 Nebula So It Goes
3 4:21 Nebula Carpe Diem
4 3:15 Nebula More
5 3:35 Nebula The Beast
6 4:11 Nebula Out Of Your Head
7 2:46 Nebula The Way To Venus
8 4:10 Nebula Paradise Engineer
9 3:00 Nebula Electric Synapse
10 5:05 Nebula Strange Human
11 10:12 Nebula Fin

On Atomic Ritual Eddie Glass and band continue their drudge through heavy, fuzz laden tones of grit and haze. Some bands change with the music environment but Nebula stick to what they're great at and they do it up right on this 2003 release.

The Chris Goss production helps to set the listener on a course right through the desert via some 1970s space wagon, complete with red earth and driving guitar riffs. To the point, this is an entertaining listen from a 3 piece that puts forth a lot of sound with plenty of hooks, great guitar work, and imagination.


-ns

This is really kickass music! Though Nebula doesn't get the brass ring for originality, quality space rock like this just doesn't exist in comparable quality today. It's not slow, plodding, sludgy stoner rock, but spacey, energetic stoner rock/metal. Is there a difference? You bet! Just listen. The rhythms and baselines are tight, the drumming very strong, and the effervescent soloing addictively layered through each song. The songs kick along at a good pace, feeling a little like a heavier 70's Deep Purple, and make for a very enjoyable listening experience; especially with headphones.

This is one of the best albums of it's kind.
If you're a fan of stoner rock, this is right up there
in quality with Kyuss.
This band has improved immensely from their previous album.
Get it, crank it up and cruise down a desert highway at night.

Atomic Ritual is one of my favorite albums of the last few seven or eight years, and if it had been released in 1993 or 1994, probably would have brought these guys Dinosaur Jr./Mudhoney-level attention/sales/Lollapalooza slots. And I know everyone compares Nebula to bands in that vein, especially Mudhoney, but I actually like Atomic Ritual more than any Mudhoney album (which is not a slight to the latter).

The whole first half of the album is incredibly catchy - especially "So It Goes" and "Carpe Diem." The band also uses pianos and acoustics here and there to give the songs more of a classic sound. The production is awesome, and the sound holds up on an ipod, or while being blasted from a crappy car stereo with the windows down (which is what this kind of music is made for).

The band stretches out and jams a little more during second half of the album, and it's a very natural transition which works well after the breakneck pace of the early stuff. I could imagine some punk fans being a little turned off by songs like "Paradise Engineer" ... but the rest of us want a break now and then.

Finally, the existentialist/libertarian-leaning lyrics fit the music well. Anyone making a Mad Max-style post-apocalypse flick should consider Nebula for the soundtrack.

While originality is all well and good, there will always be a place for bands like Nebula. These guys are hardly reinventing the wheel with their music, but they've obviously found a niche in the modern hard/stoner rock genre, and they're doing a mighty fine job with it if I do say so myself. Although it's easy to hear the echoes of such stoner-rock icons as Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Fu Manchu in Nebula's sound, these guys bring an energy and enthusiasm to the table that elevates their work well above the level of a mere ripoff. Fueled by metronomic drum beats, aggressive wailing, and probably lots of alcohol, Atomic Ritual is the kind of heavy, spacey album that's perfect for blasting with the windows open while you're stuck in traffic on the way to another hellish day at the office.

Nebula are greatly aided in their endeavors by the work of Eddie Glass, who's easily among the most unfairly neglected rock guitarists working today. On virtually every song here, the joyous grind of his instrument assumes center stage, and he doesn't disappoint. Although Eddie obviously takes the work of Josh Homme (Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, although you knew that already) as a starting point, it's equally clear that he's comfortable borrowing from other styles as well, as his playing often gets rather grungy, and it's even a bit bluesy at times. From the pummelling sludge of the title track, to the uproarious speed metal of So It Goes, to the woozy fuzz of The Beast, Eddie's intricate riffs and searing leads are a testament to the sheer power of the axe at its most unpretentious. There are a lot of guys out there who could learn a few things from him.

As I've already noted, Nebula aren't as original as many of their brethren (think Clutch), but that's no reason not to give them a shot. Atomic Ritual doens't break any new ground, but it's still a varied, confident, and undeniably fun listen. There's little to no irony to be found here, just straightforward, perfectly-played rock that puts all the radio posers to shame. Even the shouts of "Yeah!" and "Alright!" sprinkled throughout the album sound completely necessary because there's some real conviction behind them. When Eddie shouts "Gimme Some More!" at one point it's hard not to sympathize with his sentiment, however simplistic it may sound.

Dans l'ensemble cet album est ok. Malheureusement ces mecs ne semblent pas savoir quel type de musique ils veulent faire et ils trouvent assurément leur inspiration dans plusieurs sources...QOSTA, Kyuss, ledzepp...mais ils ne sont pas capable de bien gérer ce qu'ils veulent produire. En somme, ils n'ont pas de style propre à eux-même. Les drifts de guitare sont très bonnes mais souvent mal placées et avec un style trop rétro pour l'ensemble musical "spacestoner". Album à acheter si vous êtes un vendu nebula, ou que vous voulez complétez votre collection stoner...