Out of the aeons and into the alienating abysm of yet unplumbed utter-dark this sophomore full-length album from Santiago, Chile-based death metal legendry ATOMIC AGGRESSOR details personal possession and mass hypnosis alike upon their much anticipated return. Armed with disquieting antiquity and ripping psyche from flesh with every riff ‘The Occult Forces‘ presents as an airtight barrage, cut after cut applied with the sublime force of undead ‘old school’ death-thrashing style. Though it’ll feel like they’d never left the conversation outright this second LP does well enforce the quartet’s enduring cause throughout, pushing into tighter precision and darker aggression worthy of the ancient ones.

Atomic Aggressor formed back in 1985 when guitarist Enrique Zúñiga first heard ‘In the Sign of Evil‘ and ‘Morbid Tales‘ and was inspired to start a band, soon gathering friends in a garage to jam out their interests for a few years. A couple of the folks who’d been more interested in hardcore punk left to form Anarkia around 1988 while the guitarist took the name and original drummer Pato Leiva in a death metal direction, soon adding a second guitarist alongside longstanding vocalist/bassist Alejandro Díaz to the fold. That new H.P. Lovecraft-themed death metal directive (re: ‘Bloody Ceremonial‘, 1989) was notably rooted in thrash metal framework while capturing a mix of punkish structural features, the wallop of early Brazilian death-thrash counterparts, and early Florida death style attack all of which remain key characteristics of their sound today. Their second demo tape (‘Resurrection‘, 1991) took on a sharper technical hand and embraced the ‘Altars of Madness‘-stoked standard they’ve upheld since.

While those two demo tapes solidified Atomic Aggressor as a foundational name in the early Chilean death metal underground it wasn’t ’til they were resurrected and collected in the late 2000’s that momentum built for reunion. After a split with Death Yell in 2013 they’d finally managed a debut full-length (‘Sights of Suffering‘, 2014) which I’d placed at #9 on my Best of 2014 list at the time. Emphasizing their station as a rare band who truly never stumbles in pursuit of the death/thrash metal riff I’d praised the band’s authenticity on record, taking that classic edge and pushing further into realms inhabited by groups like Sadistic Intent and Mortem (Peru) in the process. A follow-up EP (‘Invoking the Primal Chaos‘, 2019) a few years later would reinforce their signature with sharper leads, no lack of classic thrash faced riffs, and all of their best traits slightly calibrated.

Reasonable as it might be to slap a stamp of approval on this new Atomic Aggressor record and suggest it sounds exactly like they always have ‘The Occult Forces‘ doesn’t smack of a band simply showing up. Here on album number two they sound tighter than ever, achieving a high standard of precision and speed which suggests they’re not only capable of representing the old guard but pushing their name back into the current frontlines. Some of this comes from the heightened production values applied and of course drummer A. Arkmar (Morbid Cruelty) is kicking even faster than their last two recordings but overall you’ll clock a higher riff count and an approach closer to ‘The Ultimate Incantation‘ than ‘Abominations of Desolation‘ in pace and puncture.

“The Chalice of Despair” does let up a bit to allow for a groove to form but most of the first half of ‘The Occult Forces‘ manifests an oppressive battery of blasting and riffing fume, avoiding the classic thrashing edge of their 2019 EP. Opener “Souls Degradation” lays out its own percussive throttle to start upholding the rate-of-fire these folks’ve brought since 1991 but still finding time to break the action up with a bass guitar lead redirect and a hundred riff changes throughout. The relentless density of attack is the major spectacle here to start but some additional attention paid the drums reveals a pretty damned impressive command of this style, kind of flexing on it with the number of fills and such flying about.

In terms of muse Atomic Aggressor‘s riffcraft is yet admittedly familiar in locus but I’ve always been impressed with the flow of arrangement Zúñiga and crew have fostered, a natural instinct for when to forge on, when to cut loose, or interrupt thyself. The way that “Forms From the Occult” and “Evil From Beneath” unfold while remaining compact in their aggressive stance should be enough to win over folks seeking pure riff-obsessed death metal and not the generic umpteenth aesthetic reduction of the sub-genre abounding. That level of composition is unhindered throughout Side B though they’ve brought in some light black/death inspiration to a few pieces (“Dwellers of the Unknown” esp.) without losing the heat of the clip on the press through.

Though it’d be fair to say the full impact of the album is uniform the second half of ‘The Occult Forces‘ would end up bearing some of my favorite songs of the lot. The number of riffs Atomic Aggressor pack in the even just the first minute of “As I Descend” is kind of a rush for a late album piece and their attack only forges on from there. Otherwise I could say similar things of closer “Tormenting Voices” which brings some of their thrash-headed side back into view in its first half. There isn’t a ton of fanfare as the quartet haul through: No dramatic exit, interlude or entrance to speak of beyond the killer wall of death served throughout. Granted I am biased as a longtime fan of the band but I will say that they’ve delivered exactly what one’d want from their name here, a high-effort intensification without a single compromised or trendy moment in their assault. A very high recommendation.

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