‘Fear is the reason, for mass delusion, fear is the reason, for self-destruction, fear is oppression, not a solution’ (Fear)

Hailing from Portland, and featuring members of Daydream, this is Atomic Prey’s debut release.  And across its six-tracks, it is as unremittingly intense as it is intriguingly layered.  The band’s rhythmic base is a fusion of martial anarcho-punk and galloping d-beat, which is then overlain with swirling psychedelic-tinged guitars.

This juxta posing of agitated fervour with spaced out atmospherics is further amplified by the semi-shouted, delay drenched vocals.  The lyrics, delivered in both English and Spanish, reflect the uneasy tension that permeates the album.  They focus on how the financialised imperatives of modern society relentlessly cultivate anxiety, which in turn breeds the fear that is harnessed to fuel division and oppression.

Thanks to the band’s ability to so deftly braid flourishes of invention throughout their furiously dense fusillade, each track emerges with its own clearly distinctive persona.  Personal stand-out moments are the sinuous unfurling of Glue, the bellicose stomp of Blood, and the utterly rampaging climax to Human Expression, which is kicked off by cleaner vocals rasping ‘I have too many feelings’ over the swinging bass line.