Alchemist and Atomizer

Our peculiar neighbours across the Tasman have long nurtured a healthy metal scene, yet few of their acts have managed to make much of a dent internationally. Mortal Sin, Sadistik Exekution, Allegience, and, um, the Screaming Jets come to mind, but who could consider any of them a palatable proposition? It's a situation similar to New Zealand, where making the leap to international audiences becomes an insurmountable barrier. This leave bands perpetually stuck circulating around the same venues, slowly wearing out their welcome.

Certainly the talent is there, and interest has been mounting internationally for a number of the less derivative acts the Australian scene has produced. Two in particular who have paid their dues in the beer barns of suburban Ockerland are Alchemist and Atomizer. Both these bands have been in existence for long periods, and have released multiple albums to local acclaim and hesitant international interest.

Canberra's Alchemist first recorded demos in 1990, releasing their first album Jar of Kingdom in 1993. This album (originally released by Austrian label Lethal, since re-released by Shock Records in Australia) was the first indication of the four piece's ability to cross-pollinate their divergent influences in a fluent manner. Drawing from various extreme metal idioms along with prog and psychedelic rock, Alchemist catalysed these sounds into something that carried their stamp of individuality. Through a series of improving albums they have gained the respect of the international metal community, and so it was no surprise when American extreme label Relapse Records sought them out to release 2001's Organasm. Relapse, who have within their stable Neurosis, Brutal Truth and Amorphis, are the perfect home for Alchemist, who would not fit comfortably into most metal label's roster.

While the 'stoner rock' sub-genre bows down to the bong, the chalice from which Alchemist sip contains an altogether more powerful substance. Their latest album release, last year's Austral Alien, is drenched in the residue of hallucinogenic experimentation. If that suggests gratuitous weirdness or indulgent instrumental freak-out, the truth is very different. This is a band, afterall, whose past is rooted in the likes of Celtic Frost, Slayer and Autopsy. While they can be as brutally punishing as any of those acts, Atomizer possess the ability to ice even their heaviest tracks with musical finesse, which along with polished production, embues Austral Alien with a subliminal lysergic vibe.

At times the fusion of musical ideas hints at a prog-rockish tendency, but this is always brought into line by crushing riffs, the immovable solidness of the rhythm section, and vocalist Adam Agius' prowess, which spans the seldom crossed abyss between death metal growling and harmonious singing. The psychedelic side of Alchemist is most evident in the keyboard textures, studio effects, and snaking eastern influenced guitar figures. This somewhat unlikely sounding hybrid is a unique entity in the metal world for sure, the result of a long journey away from the leather/testosterone cliche cul-de-sac that was metal when these boys started out.

Perhaps even weirder is the theme of Austral Alien, which could see it branded as some sort of latter day concept excursion. It seems Alchemist are environmentally conscious, which is something of an oxymoron in the apocolypse obsessed metal domain. In that light though, perhaps it's not so stange that this album is lyrically about the damage wreaked on the Earth by humankind, and the fact that future generations will inherit the results of our mistakes. This is most poignant on 'Grief Barrier', an ode to the slowly dying Great Barrier Reef, raped by the tourist industry and damaged by pollution. Then there's 'Great Southern Wasteland', which is not a reworking of the old Icehouse 'classic', rather a meditation on the the appalling consequences wrought by early atomic tests in the outback and by modern mining techniques. All up, some pretty heavy material from a band capable of some of the most progressive sounds in modern metal.

Hailing from Melbourne, Atomizer are another proposition altogether. Rather than repel, they revel in the time honoured cliches of traditional heavy metal, with, one hopes, a sturdy sense of irony. Sometimes it's hard to tell. But releasing precisely 666 vinyl copies of their new album, The Only Weapon of Choice (Agonia Records, through Lycanthropic Fervour Records in New Zealand) would suggest a well-honed sense of humour at play here. Even funnier than that though, is the fact an early live demo was released as a limited edition of 66, because Atomizer weren't ambitious to go the whole deal!

The Only Weapon of Choice is Atomizer's third full-length, though their back catalog is fleshed out by a plethora of collectible seven inch singles and picture discs, released through a series of European metal labels. It is a continuation of the well-trodden ground they malevolently stomped over with 2000's The End of Forever (Devil's Own Records) and 2002's Death-Mutation-Disease-Annihilation (Drakkar Productions). Atomizer's classical metal postures are balanced out by a healthy dose of thrash and black metal power, as witnessed by those few who ventured out to catch them on their tours of New Zealand in 2000 and 2002.

Frontman/bassist/founder Jason Healey encapsulates the spirit of Atomizer in terms of conviction and attitude. On stage he is the studied image of Motorhead's Lemmy, including the head held back stance and the Rickenbaker bass. There's definitely some of the Motorhead spirit to be found in the raw energy and utter determination that Healey and drummer Suds exhibit. They have now been joined by guitarist Rick Withoos following the departure of the two axemen who played on The Only Weapon of Choice. After 18 months of work, it's by far the most polished entry in their cannon, and with better distribution through Agonia, may well reach a well deserved wider audience. Such tracks as 'When I Die I Wanna Die Violently' and ‘The War That Never Ended’ lay down the Atomizer manifesto in no uncertain terms - killer riffing and amphetamine fuelled rock'n'roll energy aimed squarely at the ears of the terminally metal thrashing mad.