Customer Reviews

Penguin Dust

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

 

 

Atomic Opera is one of the few bands that consistently put out great albums. "For Madmen Only" is one of my top 10 greatest records of all time. And "Penguin Dust" is no different. Everything about this album is excellent. The music, the harmonies, the vocals. Every song is a work of art. Any fan of King's X or Galactic Cowboys must own every Atomic Opera CD. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Deep, thoughtful, interesting lyrics combined with excellent songwriting and musicianship cannot be beat, and that's what you get with "Penguin Dust." This album hooks you in and doesn't let go. If you like solid grooves and actual singing instead of screaming, this one's for you.

...and you'll thank me for it. My personal favorite from Atomic Opera to date. If you're familiar w/ the much ignored "Houston" sound (screw the Seattle scene), this will be an awesome addition to your collection. It's hard to take this one out of the player!

My #1 pet peeve about popular music is that it's not honest. Songs on Top 40 radio consist of topics such as womens/mens body parts, cars, love lost, things being BLUE, etc..you get my point. This band "Atomic Opera" writes honest music. Songs that have opinion, although it may not be OUR opinions but they are REAL nonetheless. Songs that make you think (God Forbid!). I love "Penguin Dust" for many reasons and here is a review of my fav tunes from this awesome CD:

1. Make A God- A song about how we create God in OUR image and then don't like it when someone elses image differs from our own. HELLO! I told you this was gonna make you think! Very cool heavy, yet melodic song.

2. Stop the Rain- great hook in the chorus and again, heavy yet melodic.

3. Fade- This song is worth the price of the CD! The end chorus with an incredible background vocal arrangement make this the biggest overlooked song in the history of Rock and Roll! (ok, maybe i'm stretching with that last comment but I think you see what I'm getting at.)

4. Thirst- a song that musically sounds quite similar to "Fade" at first but then takes you for a new ride. I will thirst for You....

5. God of Hate- I am the God of Hate and my Hate is a Holy flame ( i do hate darkness and I do hate pain...) Must be heard to be completely understood. A great track.

6. Watergrave- a great cover song. it shows the light side of the band and showcases some very sweet vocals.

What you get with Atomic opera is this: Experimental yet accessible music, heavy and light, with real vocal arrangements. Not just 5 guys singing and dancing waiting for some group of songwriters to hand them their next #1 single. This is a real band with real songs, It's a shame that bands like this can go virtually unnoticed in a place that we call "the music industry". Everyone that I play this stuff for gets blown away, honestly.

The album starts with "Make a God"---it basically kicks you in the face with it's heavy groove and continues through all kinds of facets... The chordal/music structures stick and seem to weave between the sounds and elegance of Allan Holdsworth, mixed with the guts of King's X, flavored with the energy of the Galactic Cowboys. Frank Harts vocals sounds like a mix of Chris Cornell and something you can't put your finger on. If you like soulful and gutsy singing, this is for you. If you want a variety of the groove, instead of the same old bag of junk, check out Atomic Opera and give yourself something of a new sensation. Don't deny what your ears have yearned fo. You bes not be disappointed!