Atari Teenage Riot

Reset

Written by: PP on 10/06/2014 23:38:31

If you ever wondered what could possibly have given birth to nintendocore and all those electronically infused post-hardcore bands you encounter these days, here's your answer. Atari Teenage Riot from Germany were pioneers of the style they dubbed as digital hardcore when they formed in 1992, among the very first to incorporate computerized samples in their music using an old Atari ST system on their debut album "Delete Yourself!" in 1995. They were gone for a long while after their third album in 1999, returning in 2011 to release a comeback album "Is This Hyperreal?" to a lukewarm reception from critics and fans alike. "Reset", their fifth album overall, is quite different from the bands origins, and a far cry from the digitalized autotune you hear on modern post-hardcore records or the Nintendo tunes you might remember from any HORSE The Band record, for instance.

Instead, ATR rely on a heavily industrial sound that's overwhelmed with raw club/dub samples, huge beats, and other electronics that take you back to the 90s rave scene more than anything else. These are accompanied by piercing male shouts by Alec Empire, which are in turn contrasted by more catchy clean ones delivered by their female vocalist Nic Endo. It's not entirely hardcore rather than Revolting Cocks / Ministry style pounding industrial music, but there are plenty of house / club music sections here to set Atari Teenage Riot thoroughly apart from the industrial scene. That said, you can forget about this being melody oriented or poppy like most club music you here these days. Instead, this is more like experimental industrial / hardcore with the goal of creating a cacophonic soundscape that's all about yelling on top of the weirdest electronics and rave melodies you can come to think of. At the same time, Alec's lyrical universe is highly politically charged, leaving behind an unusual mix of social awareness and industrially tuned experimental hardcore/metal music.

You may have noticed that my definition of what the band sounds like has deviated throughout the review, and that's for a good reason. It's namely next to impossible to classify how Atari Teenage Riot sound like, that's how original their soundscape is. That being said, it's also a case of original not necessarily meaning great. With oftentimes the whole package feeling like a chaotic mixture of different electronics mashed together with heavy music elements without a red thread overall. A few songs are solid, but most are just weird, and not in a good way.

6

Download: Reset, Death Machine, Modern Liars
For the fans of: Revolting Cocks, HORSE The Band, Ministry, Rabbit Junk
Listen: Facebook

Release date 26.03.2014
Digital Hardcore

Atari Teenage Riot - "Reset" (Japanese Language Lyrics Video) from The Hellish Vortex on Vimeo.


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