Review: ATALA – ‘The Bearer Of Light’ [Official Video]

 

After honing their chops in other touring bands, the members of Atala came together in 2013 when frontman Kyle Stratton, who owns two tattoo shops in their hometown, met up with drummer Jeff Tedtaotao, the brother of one of his shop’s tattoo artists. After joining up with their first bassist, the band quickly linked up with producer Scott Reeder (Kyuss, The Obsessed), and released their self-titled first full-length in 2014. In 2016, the band followed up with the release of their well-received sophomore album, ‘Shaman’s Path of the Serpent’, this time with current producer Billy Anderson (Sleep, Melvins, Mastodon) at the helm. After the departure of their previous bassist, current bassist and fellow tattoo artist Dave Horn joined the ranks. Though the band hails from the barren desert of Twentynine Palms they aren’t anything like the standard desert rock bands you may be familiar with, Atala are breaking the mold and solidifying a new sound associated with the desert. Now signed to Salt of the Earth Records, Atala seeks to reach new heights and expand their horizons, and they did just that with the 2018 release of ‘Labyrinth of Ashmedai.’ Their most conceptualized offering yet. Atala have truly found their path, and their groove, with ‘Labyrinth of Ashmedai,’ and I believe they also reached a new pinnacle in songwriting. We conducted an interview with the band as well which you can read here. The Twentynine Palms doom crew is now back with another album that is bound to please our ears. Atala will release their new full-length ‘The Bearer Of Light’ via Salt Of The Earth Records on May 21st.

Continue reading

Editor’s Top 10 Albums Of 2018!

 

Just as every year seems to do 2018 was filled with tons of tremendous albums by music veterans and also new up and coming bands. It seems to get harder and harder every year to narrow it down to 10 albums that really impressed you when you have heard an innumerable amount albums. Some of the albums that almost made my list varies from some old school legacy acts to some up and coming acts that are more on the underground side. Greta Van Fleet’s album ‘Anthem of the Peaceful Army’ was great but just didn’t make the cut with so many other great albums released this year. Sleep put out an amazing album but I’m much more of a High On Fire fan. Another band that has made my top 10 in previous years is Shit The Cow, their new album ‘When In Caracas’ was still amazing but a slight step away from what I thought was near perfection on their previous records. Of course there was also some heavy hitters that released albums that I loved like Behemoth, Judas Priest, At The Gates, Parkway Drive and Architects. I think sometimes the unknown or new bands have an advantage because you go into the listening experience with no expectations and they blow you away, versus these legendary acts who have to one up their previous masterpieces. My personal taste in music is very varied, what on my list do you agree with or what do you think is missing?

 

Continue reading

Review: ATALA – ‘Labyrinth of Ashmedai’ [Official Videos]

Photo by Matt Hall

After honing their chops in other touring bands, the members of ATALA came together in 2013 when frontman Kyle Stratton, who owns two tattoo shops in their hometown, met up with drummer Jeff Tedtaotao, the brother of one of his shop’s tattoo artists. After joining up with their first bassist, the band quickly linked up with producer Scott Reeder (Kyuss, The Obsessed), and released their self-titled first full-length in 2014. In 2016, the band followed up with the release of their well-received sophomore album, ‘Shaman’s Path of the Serpent’, this time with current producer Billy Anderson (Sleep, Melvins, Mastodon) at the helm. After the departure of their previous bassist, current bassist and fellow tattoo artist Dave Horn joined the ranks. Now signed to Salt of the Earth Records, ATALA seeks to reach new heights and expand their horizons with the 2018 release of ‘Labyrinth of Ashmedai’, their most charging and conceptualized offering yet. ATALA have truly found their path, and their groove, with ‘Labyrinth of Ashmedai’. We recently conducted an interview with the band as well which you can read here. Continue reading

Watch ATALA’S Crushing Video For “Wilted Leaf”

© Jenifer Stratton

The team here at Metal Nexus pride ourselves in the promotion of artists from all over the world and at various stages in their career. We are inundated daily with requests from not just bands, but their publicists and even fans sharing the latest video, song or album releases ranging from the underground to the well established veterans, as they all know whole-heartedly that we as a team will do our upmost to support and give a platform to as many artists as we can across the whole spectrum of Rock and Metal. While we each have our own preferences and tastes, the one thing that every one of us has in common is our sheer passion for music and our desire to make great music heard and enjoyed by as many people as possible.

Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I share with you today the latest video from Sludge lords Atala. The single “Wilted Leaf” is taken from their forthcoming concept album ‘Labyrinth of Asmedai’ which is set for release on January 26th via Salt Of The Earth Records. If this song is anything to go by, it is going to be one hell of a record!

“Basically, all we did musically was try and rip the roof off of the studio. Vocally I just yelled as hard as I could and blew my voice out, day one, fuck it, it’s rock and roll, not pop” says guitarist/vocalist Kyle Stratton.

Continue reading

An Interview With ATALA: “I Think I Was Born To Be The Villain In Real Life!

Photo Credit: Jenifer Stratton

After years of turning heads in the subterranean metal scene, Twentynine Palms, CA-based sludge/doom metal group Atala are rising above with the release of their most confident album yet – the full-length crusher ‘Labyrinth of Ashmedai’ out January 26, 2018 via Salt of the Earth Records, the bands first release on the label. This album is a follow up to their previous album ‘Shaman’s Path of the Serpent’ which was released in May of 2016. Atala has an inspiring sound that is made up of various influences. Psychedelic desert sludge combined with crushing doom riffs and stoner rock melodies. Though the band hails from the barren desert of Twentynine Palms they aren’t anything like the standard desert rock bands you may be familiar with, Atala are breaking the mold and solidifying a new sound associated with the desert. As with their last record, ‘Shaman’s Path of the Serpent’, ‘Labyrinth of Ashmedai’ was produced by Billy Anderson, recognized for his work with colossal bands such as Sleep, Melvins and Mastodon. The album is available for pre-order as digital download, cd, and also on Limited edition black and blue splatter vinyl. Pre-order your copy here today!

Continue reading