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| Interview by Burt Wolf with Jason Healey, vocalist, bassist, lyricist, artist & manager of ATOMIZER. Interview done June 21st, 2004. |
| COULD YOU GIVE SOME OF THE HISTORY OF ATOMIZER & HOW YOU CAME TO EXIST? ANY OTHER BANDS YOU WERE IN BEFORE? ATOMIZER have been together for close to six years. We have released three albums & four EP's, done about 85 live shows, and got together with the intention of creating some good Metal with a sound that other bands had hinted at, but possibly not achieved to the extent we imagined that it could be. WHY WAS THE NAME ATOMIZER CHOSEN FOR THE BAND? I wanted a band name that had a destructive quality to it, one that I could find no evidence that it had been used by another Metal band, and one that had some meaning to me. I took the name from the title of BIG BLACK's 1985 masterpiece "Atomizer". A great & violent record! WHO OR WHAT HAS HELPED INFLUENCE YOU IN CREATING YOUR SOUND? This is always tricky as personally I think it is coincidence that our sound has a similar feel to other bands. Take SODOM for example, I would never think of them as an overt influence, yet I see similarities, probably because a lot of ATOMIZER's is written on the bass, as with SODOM. Personally, I get ideas for songs, etc from books, films & research. Of course it is imperative to put your own slant on things, but anything can trigger an idea, but it is rare that lyrically that that influence would emerge from listening to another band. As we all listen to a lot of different kinds of Metal acts from various eras, I guess those interests filter through, but in a sense it is better having that interst in a lot of different styles as it is easier to assess the originality of what we are trying to do. Not that we are trying to be completely unique, but I mean we do what we want to do, play what we think sounds good, and don't let ourselves be affected by too much noise surrounding what is and what is not considered acceptable. |
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| YOU GUYS SOUND VERY TALENTED & EXPERIENCED, HAVE ANY OF YOU HAD ANY LESSONS OR ARE YOU SELF TAUGHT? DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS BESIDES WHAT YOU PLAY IN THE BAND? I'm pretty sure our guitarists have had lessons, although the two in the band now are not those who played on "THE ONLY WEAPON..." You can hear them on our forthcoming release "SONGS OF SLAUGHTER-SONGS OF SACRIFICE" which is out during August on HELL'S HEADBANGERS. Myself & Suds (bass & drums) are probably mostly self taught. I learned everything I know (he, |
| he, a comment open to interpretation) through playing with other people. I'm sure lessons would have benefited me though. I guess I settled for good timing... YOUR NEW DISC & ONLY ONE I HAVE "THE ONLY WEAPON OF CHOICE" HAS BEEN OUT FOR A LITTLE BIT NOW. HOW HAS IT BEEN DOING, WHAT HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN LIKE? The response has been really killer! I always take more notice of the comments that comprise a review rather than the score, but we have been getting a lot of 8/10 and the odd album of the year etc. I know that ATOMIZER has better releases in us, but "THE ONLY WEAPON..." represents our finest hour to that point and is an album that was given 100% dedication & commitment, so for me, it does really matter what others think. I believe in it & it's merits. I'm not sure about the sales at this time, although I guess it has moved around three thousand so far. HOW DID YOU GET HOOKED UP WITH AGONIA RECORDS? HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH THEM? We agreed to work with AGONIA for the release of the Pic LP version of "THE ONLY WEAPON...", which extended to the release of our first & second albums on PLP also... should be during July I hope. Anyways, Filip & I exchanged a zillion emails & came to an agreement. I am pleased to be signed to this label & think that it is the best thing for ATMOZIER to be on a label who believes in the band & are proud to stand behind us. CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COVER ART? Like everything, the cover is open to interpretation, but as that is a very lame answer, I like to think of it as life after the Only Weapon Of Choice is unleashed. WHAT IS SOME OF LYRICAL CONTENT IN YOUR SONGS? War, anti-christianity, death...the usual stuff, but I try to take a radically different approach to writing lyrics. I think so many bands settle with any old lyrical approach & are content with themse & ideas, rather than serious content. I try to write as though I were the person having the experience... that sort of thing... Instead of writing"i hate christians" I try to illustrate the shortcomings of that religion, and to compose lyrics in a way that may cause people to think about their lives, scenario. That's my take on it anyway. People that take the time to read the words usually have great things to say about them, so coupled with my own satisfaction I would say that that is a good thing. |