As I was listening to my iPhone's music on shuffle mode a few days ago, I realized I've done a [poor job of plugging Atomic Opera][ao_cc] here, an oversight I plan to rectify. If you're not familiar with AO--and there's no reason for me to believe that you are--here's how the band describes itself in these excerpts from its [website][ao]: > Who or what is Atomic Opera? > Atomic Opera is infectious. Very heavy, low-end grooves are at the center of what they do. The music is haunting. This isn't your average Metal band, this isn’t an average band in any way, this is deep powerful music... > Breaking with the standard rock cliché’s, AO employs mandolin, dulcimer, bouzouki, harmonica, recorder and ocarina, thanks to Kemper Crabb. Often, bassist Ryan Birsinger plays the Chapman stick. Front man and guitarist Frank Hart also takes some pleasing swipes at the cello and sitar. And there in the back supporting the whole dance is the very capable John Simmons, who pounds out complex drum rhythms with seeming ease. A very interesting music-scape of sound. > Don’t be mislead, however, AO is definitely hard rock—only much more... they've got it all (except, of course, Hart can actually sing). But on top of that metal foundation, through careful arrangements and a great sense of harmony, the band breaks out of the genre with beautiful vocal sections... > Atomic Opera is amazing musicianship, great songs, deep lyrics, satisfying melodic grooves, heavy, dark, light, beautiful and hard rock. When Atomic Opera's label Collision Arts collapsed in 1995 after the band's debut [_For Madmen Only_][fmo], frontman Frank Hart dissolved the band for awhile. In 1997 he called on former AO drummer Mark Poindexter and multi-instrumentalist Kemper Crabb to help him record an album's worth of material from the songs he had been writing during that break. Produced by Hart, mixed by [Galactic Cowboy][gc] Alan Doss, and mastered by [King's X][kx] guitarist [Ty Tabor][tt], the result was [_Penguin Dust_][pd], an album Hart decided to release independently under the Atomic Opera moniker. The crunchy guitars, heavy bass groove, vocal harmonies, and Hart's unique singing style of the first album remained, but Crabb brought a new texture to the Atomic Opera sound in the form of medieval instruments like mandolin, recorder, and dulcimer, sometimes distorted to the point of being unrecognizable. Also present were Hart's blatant, unapologetic lyrics based on his Christian faith--lyrics that often run counter to much of what is found in the Contemporary Christian Music market and that ask challenging questions that don't always have easy or comfortable answers. In 1999, Metal Blade Records signed Atomic Opera to a record deal based on the strength of _Penguin Dust_, and Hart reformed the band, retaining Crabb as a full-time member and adding a new rhythm section. Metal Blade offered to re-release _Penguin Dust_ to world-wide distribution, but in typical convention-bucking fashion, Hart opted instead to record and release a new album which turned into 2000's _Gospel Cola_, a record we will get to in due time. Enjoy! [pd]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TPVTTC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=clangandclatter-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B000TPVTTC "Purchase Atomic Opera's "Penguin Dust" at Amazon.com." [fmo]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000008D13/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&condition=all "Purchase Atomic Opera's debut "For Madmen Only" at Amazon.com." [ao]: http://www.atomicopera.com/ "Visit the official (albeit a bit out-of-date) Atomic Opera site." [ao_cc]: http://clangandclatter.com/tagged/atomic+opera "Find out more about Atomic Opera here at Clang & Clatter." [gc]: http://clangandclatter.com/tagged/galactic+cowboys "Read up on the Galactic Cowboys here at Clang & Clatter." [kx]: http://clangandclatter.com/tagged/king's+x "What would I do if I didn't mention King's X at least once a day here at Clang & Clatter?!" [tt]: http://clangandclatter.com/tagged/ty+tabor "Ty Tabor is quite possibly my favorite guitarist. Ever."
