If the Texan bands Kings X and Galactic Cowboys represent the Pearl Jam and Nirvana of the Houston hard-rock sound, then Atomic Opera is the Soundgarden. They have a more consistent metal edge than their peers, but they keep these dark, thick grooves melodic and accessible. Atomic Opera sold 20,000 copies of their debut record, For Madmen Only and this is a collection of the songs that led up to that work. "The ten songs that are chosen to be on this CD tell a story—the musical story of a band discovering itself," says frontman Frank Hart. Atomic Opera strikes gold right from the start with the beautiful "Rain Parade"; other highlights include "Meaningless Word" "Spinning," and "Magic Castle" with its cascading, shanty-like melody line.
m3u audio streams (if the flash player above doesn't work for you): [hifilofi] Play all tracks as an m3u audio stream (or xspf, ogg)
[hifilofi] 01-Rain Parade (3:27)
[hifilofi] 02-For Madmen Only (3:43)
[hifilofi] 03-All These Things (5:51)
[hifilofi] 04-Feverdream No.1 (3:42)
[hifilofi] 05-Magic Castle (4:23)
[hifilofi] 06-Love in Grey (6:09)
[hifilofi] 07-Meaningless Word (4:37)
[hifilofi] 08-Paper Tiger (4:54)
[hifilofi] 09-Spinning (5:22)
[hifilofi] 10-Let Go (5:19)