Atomic Peat - "Demons and Other Friends"
Atomic Peat is a power trio from Osnabruck, Germany who plays a very customized style of heavy music, utilizing influences from various styles of both rock and metal. While fuzzy stoner rock is certainly a noticeable inspiration in Atomic Peat's music, it's not ever-present. In fact, Atomic Peat is one of those bands that I spend far less time trying to categorize by specific genre, and far more time appreciating them for their way of playing "heavy music" in general. While there are some nostalgic nods to certain eras and styles of music in the mix, it's apparent that Atomic Peat has created a sound all their own.
Atomic Peat released their debut album, "Octaphobia", in 2016. Since then, they've become well known for their high-energy live shows and have played with the likes of Skaeckoedlan, Red Fang, 1000 Mods, Life of Agony, Mos Generator, Sasquatch, Dopelord, Ruff Majik, Rotor, Kadavar, Black Vulpine, Colour Haze, DOOL, and Motorowl (not only is that an extensive and very impressive list, but I spy a few personal favorites).
Atomic Peat gave us a taste of their sophomore album, Demons and Other Friends, on Halloween 2024 with the release of the video and single Demons coming home (quite an appropriate tune and video for the holiday). Demons and Other Friends was officially released in full on February 20, 2025. As you'll find out, it's filled to overflowing with both heavy rock and metal goodness, but its songs are just as rich with deeper meaning. Let's talk about just that...
Atomic Peat - Demons and Other Friends
Demons and Other Friends contains nine tasty tracks:
1.) Primitive
This song was recorded much earlier on than the other tracks on the album, taking its inspiration from frustration churned up by lack of time to enjoy the world due to contemporary demands. Primitive explores what existence might be like off the grid, living in a "beautiful, untouched paradise far away from tall the stress of modern life". That's definitely something this blogger can relate to on a spiritual level.
Primitive, to my ears, has a backbone of high-energy, expressive alternative metal, confidently and clearly communicating the exasperation the narrator feels in the overwhelming modern world. This is combined with notes of longing and vulnerability in the melodic choruses, indicative of just how deep that desire to escape can be. The song ends by stomping out with a caveman-like gait and guttural metal growls, adding a sludgy texture to the mix and driving the point home in a solid way.
2.) Ignite
Ignite is all about the value in vulnerability, recognizing that a tough and polished exterior is often just a facade and a cover-up for insecurities. The song's lyrics encourage being honest with oneself. Crunchy, percussive metal instrumentals in the verses give way to alternative-tuned, melodic choruses, delivering words of encouragement with some well-placed vocal harmonies.
3.) Her Black
A track the band describes as one of their personal favorites from the album, Her Black takes on a melancholic, dark alternative rock tone. Wailing guitar solos near the end of the song not only add a traditional metal flair, but they contribute to the penitent, sorrowful mood. While Atomic Peat songs typically cloak their more serious and heartfelt subject matter with high-octane, heavy rock and metal stylings, Her Black is much more overt in its message. Lyrically, the song focuses on a woman who "...seems kinda odd at first glance, but she's beautiful in own unique way and just doesn't fit into society. Nobody really notices her until she's suddenly gone, and you realize you missed out on knowing someone amazing."
4.) Use your tongue
Use your tongue picks the pace back up with some rollicking percussion and bass, topped with a crisp guitar riff that sets a modern heavy rock tone. You can physically feel the emotion beginning to stir and swirl about midway through the song, setting the stage for an outright tempest. Throughout the remainder of the track, vocals and instrumentals alike increase in confident intensity, which, to me, is representative of a newfound clarity upon discovering one's self-worth. This makes a bit more sense when you learn that Use your tongue, which was written pre-pandemic (and a bit prophetic in that way), is about craving companionship. Specifically, the song encourages you to ask yourself, "Are you able to be your true self and feel free in your relationship, or are you just dreaming about how it could be?" As alluded to earlier, knowing what you deserve is not only empowering but freeing, and Use your tongue is such a great illustration of those very feelings.
5.) Demons coming home
Watching the video for Demons coming home, the first single from Demons and Other Friends, was my first time hearing Atomic Peat. What a great introduction it was, with its rumbling heavy rock and buzzing stoner qualities combined with an essence of classic metal and gruffly melodic vocals. Pair that with this incredibly well-crafted music video to accompany it (released on Halloween, no less), and you have quite an immersive experience! It probably goes without saying that this intensely relatable song is about attempting to escape from one's inner demons, but there's a thought-provoking deeper message here: "...those demons are just good friends with something to tell you. Stop, listen, and try to understand."
6.) Nature Boy
Nature Boy harnesses a truckload of stoner rock grit in addition to Atomic Peat's baseline formula of alternative rock, heavy rock, and heavy metal. In the latter third of the track, those traditional metal influences abruptly move to the forefront with some brilliant lead guitar work and killer solos (something that you can bank on to end almost every Atomic Peat song...and I love it). This very appropriately elicits a bit of coming-of-age nostalgia, reminiscent of the powerhouse heavy metal and progressive rock acts of the late 70s and early 80s. I say this nostalgic feeling is fitting because Nature Boy is a very personal song for its author, drawing upon childhood memories, first tastes of heavy music, and the process of reconciling his "rock star" side with his adventurous "nature boy" side:
"When I was a kid, I was always outside - either in the woods, on my skateboard, or doing some other sport. My music teacher at school saw some special musical talent in me, so I got a piano and started lessons in classical music, but it wasn't really my thing. Luckily, my brother hooked me up with some tapes of Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Uriah Heep, and Deep Purple. Those tapes changed everything, especially one that had "Number of the Beast" on side A and "Powerslave" on side B. I played them non-stop on my Walkman, day and night under the covers. But to this day, I'm still that nature kid who loves climbing rocks and exploring on my mountain and gravel bikes."
7.) Frenemy
Frenemy slows things down a bit, but it would be far from accurate to call it "muted" or "tranquil". Spiraling guitar amid falsetto vocals and cautious percussion and bass open the song, giving it a mournful tone. However, Frenemy is characterized by bursts of power in its choruses, filled with emotion from both vocals and instrumentals as it eventually moves full force into an impassioned heavy metal lament by its end. Wailing guitar solos and crunchy instrumentals close out the song, a far cry from how it began.
The most notable thing about Frenemy for me is the noticeable versatility in the vocals. Much more melodic overall, they move from falsetto to a very rock n' roll belting out in the choruses, but always with a palpable amount of power and emotion.
As its title suggests, Frenemy is about false friends with ulterior motives. Usually, when I hear this term, it's used in a catty way, often with a bit of bitter sarcasm. However, I really appreciate that Atomic Peat take a rather serious look at the topic, as feeling used can undoubtedly be one of the most devastating feelings one can experience. As pointed out in the chorus of the song, it can take a while to recognize a frenemy for what they are, and ultimately, to escape from the relationship. But, as the band states in their description of the song on Bandcamp, these people are really "...fighting a war with themselves, not you."
8.) A Part Of The Crown
Of all the songs on Demons and other friends, A Part Of The Crown has the most sophisticated, interesting composition. It begins by building a foundation that I could best describe as psychedelic doom with notes of heavy blues (a la Black Sabbath and early Danzig), but with a much heavier, almost sludgy element - there's certainly a very viscous, earth rattling swagger throughout the song. Vocals follow the lead by being very metal-oriented, with the exception of some more melodic choruses. On that note, the choruses are the most interesting part, as they seamlessly create a window of smoother heavy rock in the midst of the aforementioned turbulence, complete with vocal harmonies and some proggy instrumentals. This is especially true after the second chorus, as heavy and progressive rock ultimately take over by A Part Of The Crown's end. This is a very yin-and-yang approach: two seemingly opposite styles that Atomic Peat blends beautifully well into something very harmonious. And of course, these are some of my very favorite styles of music combined into one five-minute song, so what's not to love?
I was so busy digging the instrumentals of this song that I had to backtrack and focus on the meaning behind A Part Of The Crown, which has to do with losing track of who you really are, especially when it comes to the pull of money and material things.
9.) The Way
The Way is a very standout track, ending the album in a powerful, haunting, and thought-provoking way. It begins with an almost mantra-like segment that repeats throughout the song: a slow but buzzing doomy riff that's quite muted, with another simple and percussive guitar strum that emulates a ticking clock. Over this, the vocals repeatedly ask, "Is this the way you want to live? Is this the way you want to die?" Continuing to make masterful use of building as they have throughout the entire album, Atomic Peat does ultimately take The Way into metal territory, particularly in the final third of the song, but this time, the haunting guitar and stirring lyrics tell a dismal but cautionary tale. This is a warning against arrogance and ego, and a reminder that, no matter, what, "...we're all connected and dependent on each other."
Final Thoughts
First and foremost, I have to applaud Atomic Peat for being an incredibly genuine band, particularly in the way they play heavy music without regard to genre affiliation. On Demons and other friends, the band makes it abundantly clear that they're more than capable of playing any style you throw at them: stoner, alternative, traditional heavy metal, doom, sludge, what have you. Not only do they meld these genres together and/or switch between two or more of them within a single song, but they do it as it feels right, and as it fits with each individual song and its message. The result is a very authentic and immersive sound, drawing you in to both the layers of the song and the meaning behind it.
That leads into my next point, and a pleasant surprise that Demons and other friends gave me: It plays out a bit like a soundtrack to life by offering some rather sage advice on issues just about all of us face at some point. It also provides almost constant hints of nostalgia in its classic heavy metal, retro heavy rock, and alternative rock influence, but also in the inspiration behind the song Nature Boy. In this way, there's an underlying element to Demons with other friends that is surprisingly comforting. Listening to the album reminds me a bit of hanging out with a dear friend who knows you inside and out, someone you can count on to rock out with or have a heart to heart with, whatever the case may be.
*All italicized quotations come from the band's "About the songs" section on their Bandcamp page, something this fan and sometimes-reviewer GREATLY appreciates, so a big thank you to Atomic Peat for that!
More About Atomic Peat
Demons and other friends is available digitally on Bandcamp or your favorite streaming platform!
Atomic Peat Is:
Ingo - Vocals and Guitar
Daniel - Bass
Timo - Drums
You can follow Atomic Peat and listen to their music at the following links:
A massive thank you to the always awesome Broken Music Booking for the promo!
If you like Atomic Peat, you might also enjoy TIER!
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