Anybody here into Atomic opera?

I first heard atomic opera a couple years ago, well after the band was done. I've always loved there sound. The other day I found out they rereleased "for madmen only" which was long out of print. The two lead tracks are a great one-two punch to start the album and heavy as a sledge hammer.

I only have Gospel Cola. It doesn't do much for me musically, but the lyrics are awesome.

Try "for madmen only" and "alpha and oranges" I like them quite a bit more than gospel cola.

I had For Madmen Only when it first came out. They were trying the King's X thing, just not nearly as well. I flipped a coin and decided to listen to Galactic Cowboys instead.

I've only just started getting into Kings X in the last week or two.  The similarities are there for sure. The more melancholy and feel and slightly more metallic edge of ao is enough difference to set them apart for me. The two suit entirely different listening moods.

DevZor wrote:

I've only just started getting into Kings X in the last week or two.  The similarities are there for sure. The more melancholy and feel and slightly more metallic edge of ao is enough difference to set them apart for me. The two suit entirely different listening moods.

The Galactic Cowboys and Atomic Opera came out pretty close together, both bands featuring the layered Beatle-esque harmonies and Drop-D guitar riffs ala King's X, though both bands were a little more metallic. I ended up deciding that I preferred Galactic Cowboys for a number of reasons.

I pretty much only like the first few albums from K's X and GC. I'm not really a fan of AO, except for a few songs on the Madmen album.

I think any fan of King's X would do well to try both Galactic Cowboys and Atomic Opera. Both great bands.

I'm a fan but only of the debut and Gospel Cola. Of course, apart from those two they didn't release much else.

I dig For Madmen Only! I believe all three bands were being produced by Sam Taylor, hence the KX sound.

One caveat to that is King's X already had their sound prior to Sam Taylor getting involved. I also heard firsthand that Sam Taylor did absolutely NOTHING on Out Of The Silent Planet or Gretchen Goes To Nebraska. He only showed up in the studio about once a week, nodded his head and left. Ty actually produced those albums, Sam Taylor just collected a paycheck.

Ugh, that sucks big time.

This is pretty cool.  A one off live performance to celebrate the re-release of fmo recorded.  For a bunch of guys who haven't played together 20 years being recorded on a video camera, this isn't half bad.  Interesting they didn't play anything off of Gospel Cola.

I have For Madmen Only as well and it's ok. I liked Ult's review and dug the similarities to King's X and Galactic Cowboys. It's decent enough, but nothing that made me want to track down their other material.

I didn't care for the little I heard from them (Gospel Cola). I love Galactic Cowboys though.

Only have FMO and enjoy it. Like already said, sort of akin to GC and King's X.

Eyesore wrote:

I think any fan of King's X would do well to try both Galactic Cowboys and Atomic Opera. Both great bands.

I have to agree.

S.D. wrote:

One caveat to that is King's X already had their sound prior to Sam Taylor getting involved.  I also heard firsthand that Sam Taylor did absolutely NOTHING on Out Of The Silent Planet or Gretchen Goes To Nebraska.  He only showed up in the studio about once a week, nodded his head and left.  Ty actually produced those albums, Sam Taylor just collected a paycheck.  

Yeah, Sam was their "manager" in those days, and I guess finagled his way into a "producer" credit.

IMO, King's X, Galactic Cowboys, and Atomic Opera all sound distinctly different from each other.

Yep similar things they all incorporate, but three different sounds.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

IMO, King's X, Galactic Cowboys, and Atomic Opera all sound distinctly different from each other.

Yes, they each have their own sound but there is a LOT of similar influences at work so it's not out of bounds to compare/contrast. Plus they all knew each other and collaborated.

S.D. wrote:

One caveat to that is King's X already had their sound prior to Sam Taylor getting involved.  I also heard firsthand that Sam Taylor did absolutely NOTHING on Out Of The Silent Planet or Gretchen Goes To Nebraska.  He only showed up in the studio about once a week, nodded his head and left.  Ty actually produced those albums, Sam Taylor just collected a paycheck.  

Sam had a big falling out with both K's X and GC. I remember sending him a email in the late 90s asking about it and he got pissed.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I have For Madmen Only as well and it's ok. I liked Ult's review and dug the similarities to King's X and Galactic Cowboys. It's decent enough, but nothing that made me want to track down their other material.

I brought For Madmen Only into work this week to give it a fresh spin and see if anything stands out.

For the record, if we're comparing them to King's X and Galactic Cowboys, I'm a GC fan.

Well this thread caused me to revisit these guys on youtube.....and it looks as if I'll have to retract my post . I'm actually diggin' what I'm hearing. I really don't remember them being any good.....maybe I'm just getting old.

They're a good band,similar to GC and Kings X as others have mentioned.I still dig the Cowboys much more though.