EP Review: Atarka – The Mountain

The Breakdown

If guttural screams and thunderous guitar riffs creating mountain sized grooves are your thing, then you may have found your new favourite band.

– 8.8

Hailing from Birmingham, Atarka were originally conceived in 2018 and initially comprised of Daniel McCarthy (guitar), Adam Bayliss (bass), Jamie Smith (vocals), Alex Dutton (guitar), and Phil Sheldon (drums). Following the completion of the new record, Daniel McCarthy left the band for new horizons, but this opened the door for Haydn Edwards to step up and put his stamp on the bands’ live endeavours.

Their new EP The Mountain sees them stamping their immersing and groove filled metal with four huge tracks.

The torrential ‘Throne Of Disgrace’ kicks things off and announces the band in style. The combination of vocals is a big plus for the band, making the tracks hit hard even with the fretboard melting guitar work. The track closes with a mountain sized groove.

The grooves don’t stop as ‘The Nethermost Blight’s’ intro is a screamer. The vocals come right to the forefront to as they swap between clean and guttural for maximum impact. The drums and bass do a really good job at the head banging dynamics on this track too as they collide together.

‘Barbarian’ is a kick to the head from the very start. A relentless beast which features vocal assistance from Bjorn Strid of Soilwork who adds a menacing twist. Some stellar guitar work keeps this track flying along with moments of almost delicate phrases mixed with the heavy assault from the drums.

Final track ‘The Mountain’ has a calmer start and a more melodic feel. There is a hint of epic in the vocal work making perhaps one of the stronger track musically. It doesn’t hit like ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Throne Of Disgrace’ may do but then the band doesn’t need it too. The track demonstrates their songwriting craft and ability to create an interesting track that still has you banging along. The outro is nothing short of epic on it’s own. A huge scathing wall of sound crumbles into a lone acoustic passage signing off the EP in style.

If guttural screams and thunderous guitar riffs creating mountain sized grooves are your thing, then you may have found your new favourite band. They bring huge tracks that hit like a sledgehammer but also allow their melodic and gentler side through like on the title track. It’s a good preview of their newer sound and still has a worthy place in any metal fans collection.

Check out the bands track Barbarian, below: