Atomizer

Product Information

This is the band’s first recording since bassist Jeff Pezzati left in late 1984 to work more closely with his other group, Naked Raygun. Don't worry about their longevity, as Philips will pronounce them obsolete when the next phase of the market-squeezing technology bonanza begins. Hey it's not Zep but if you're against the Big Black grain then maybe you exist in an airtight, brain-free starless environment. Reviewing for The Village Voice in September 1986, Robert Christgau wrote that, "Though they don't want you to know it, these hateful little twerps are sensitive souls—they're moved to make this godawful racket by the godawful pain of the world, which they learn about reading everything from textbooks to bondage mags. In the year after Atomizer's release, Big Black recorded their 4-song Headache EP and released it with a sticker that bore the words, "Warning!

The album gained immediate notoriety due to its stark lyrics discussing the seedier, more disturbing aspects of human life – child sex abuse, corrupt cops, domestic abuse, volunteering at a slaughterhouse to kill cows for fun, or just growing up in a rural town and finding your only joy or entertainent in setting things on fire and fucking – so you get the bright idea to combine the two and see what happens. That same year Atomizer was compiled onto compact disc along with the Headache EP and the band's "Heartbeat" single under the name, The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape. Instrumentally, Atomizer is a wailing behemoth of assaultive Roland beats, Steve Albini and Santiago Durango's clanging and whirring guitars, and new member Dave Riley's lumberjack bass. Vincent (live at the Our Band Could Be Your Life 10th Anniversary Show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom on May 22, 2011.

He played everything on the EP himself, except the sax bleating courtesy of pal John Bohnen and the drums courtesy of Roland. Soon after, Steve recruited Jeff Pezzati (Naked Raygun) on bass and Santiago Durango (also Naked Raygun) joined them on guitar. Instead, Steve Albini expressed his general dislike for the compact disc format in the CD's liner notes, saying, "This compact disc, compiled to exploit those of you gullible enough to own the bastardly first generation digital music system, contains all- analog masters. In addition to the ones mentioned below, the album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

It's also Albini at his most plainspoken and bleak: "Stare at the wall/Stare at each other and wait 'til we die. Homestead Records also issued "Big Money" and "Il Duce" the A-side of a 12" record with three live songs on the B-side (including the live version of "Cables" that would appear on Atomizer) with the agreement that the 12" be used for promotional purposes only. The CD omitted track 9 "Strange Things", as well as the artwork and liner notes from the original records. Big Black always credited Roland along with the band's members, though Roland is a brand of drum machine and not an actual person.

One song from the album, "Big Money", was released as a B-side to the " Il Duce" single prior to the release of Atomizer.