Based in NYC and Austin, TX, Atomic Brother is an alternative hard rock band whose musical influences range from rock to metal and pop to punk, often drawing comparisons to Disturbed, Alice In Chains, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix — sometimes all at once. Atomic Brother’s musical influences are apparent in their ability to master a number of different styles–from rock to metal to punk, from blues to country to pop, Spanish influenced songs and even toward slower songs and ballads–producing cohesive and balanced songs that are uniquely Atomic Brother.
Atomic Brother is James Melillo on guitar and lead vocals and S.A. Sebastian Gnolfo on bass and vocals. Melillo and Gnolfo met on their first day of college. Over the years, they have been in numerous bands together–they travelled to Europe to play in the Montreaux Jazz Festival, they played on Nickelodeon, and the even played live from the back of an 18-wheeler in front of over one million spectators.
Melillo and Gnolfo met on their first day of college; their instant bond began with a mutual love for music, which developed into a close friendship and professional alliance. Over the years, they have been in numerous bands together–they travelled to Europe to play in the Montreaux Jazz Festival, they played on Nickelodeon, and the even played live from the back of an 18-wheeler in front of over one million spectators.
On May 25, 2010, Atomic Brother is back with their 4 release, the EP, Pretty Little Lunatic— a cool amalgam of punk rock stylings, modern alternative metal and anthemic 70s classic rock. Recorded in 5 cities in 3 countries, Pretty Little Lunatic features 5 new songs, 3 studio tracks and 2 live acoustic tracks and is the second in a series of EPs to be released by the band. Pretty Little Lunatic opens with the punk-infused, rapid-fire vocals of “Sin Is In,” moves into “As Far As I Can Go,” Atomic Brother’s modern, metal take on classic rockabilly then, in classic Atomic Brother style, the recording takes a turn with the quirky anthem “Bullet From My Brain,” which blends the sounds of 70’s era Who and Led Zeppelin with modern day alternative metal. Atomic Brother closes out Pretty Little Lunatic with “Better Day” and “The Blindness,” 2 songs recorded live and raw – stripped down to just vocals, guitar and bass.
In 2009, Atomic Brother released the Ep Silence Collide, after spending the better part of 2008 and the first half of 2009 writing and demoing songs. Silence Collide features the 3 new songs, “Silence Collide,” “Perfect Day,” and “Hands Up” plus 2 bonus tracks; live, acoustic versions of “Perfect Day” and “Wastin’ All My Time.” From the heavy riffing and desperate lyrics of “Silence Collide” to the arpeggiated guitars and uplifting lyrics of “Perfect Day”, the studio tracks on Silence Collide take the listener on a roller-coaster ride of emotion and sound.
In 2007, Atomic Brother released their debut album, See Me Comin’, which was recorded & produced by the band in Lausanne, Switzerland at Soundlake Studios, owned and operated by the band’s close friend and former music partner Patrick Aeby. Aside from co-producing and mixing, Aeby also played drums on the album. Listeners are often surprised at the wide range of musical styles found on the band’s debut album, See Me Comin’. After the heavy riffs in “Not My Fault” and the title track “See Me Comin’,” it’s refreshing to find that the band is also capable of playing punk rock tunes like “Employee of the Month,” and even slow ballads such as “Home in the Sky” and the Spanish-feeling “Never Home.”
The band felt that getting away from New York and their normal day-to-day in order to record helped them concentrate on the quality of their music–and their dedication shows in each of the 12 original songs on the album, which was released worldwide on iTunes on July 4, 2007.
Listeners are often surprised at the wide range of musical styles found on See Me Comin’. After the heavy riffs in “Not My Fault” and the title track “See Me Comin’,” it’s refreshing to find that the band is also capable of playing punk rock tunes like “Employee of the Month,” and even slow ballads such as “Home in the Sky” and the Spanish-feeling “Never Home.” Many listeners compare Atomic Brother’s music to Disturbed, Megadeth, Alice In Chains, Henry Rollins, Ramones, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. The band also filmed a music video for the song “Take You Away.” The videos was directed and edited by sometime Atomic Brother drummer, Michael J. Carrasquillo.
In 2004, Atomic Brother made their first release with a single; a cover of the Alice Cooper classic, “Elected” for the 2004 US Presidential election. Atomic Brother’s decision to remake this song came after listening to the lyrics of the song and hearing how relevant they are today as they were when “Elected” was written over 30 years ago.
When writing music, Melillo and Gnolfo pay no attention to the style each song turns out to be. According to Gnolfo, they were “tired of hearing bands both live and on CD that sound the same from start to finish,” so they decided to focus more on writing good music and less on keeping it within a particular genre. “If it sounds good and we both like it,” stated Melillo, “we’ll use it. Period. A good song is a good song.”
To find out about upcoming shows and projects, keep checking here at atomicbrother.com, or follow @atomicbrother on Twitter. Atomic Brother plans to release several more digital-only Ep releases in 2010. Be prepared to hear some diverse, extraordinary music, and make room on your calendar, because this is definitely a band you’ll want to see and hear live.