Despite numerous challenges and lineup changes, ATOMSKI RAT has remained steadfast in their commitment to their raw, politically charged sound.
I took the opportunity to talk to Zoran, one of ATOMSKI RAT’s founding members, who will take you through the band’s history, what makes the band tick, and what keeps them pushing forward in a scene that is mostly unrecognized.
Hello Zoran, thank you for your time. Atomski Rat comes from a small border town in Serbia. Briefly introduce us to the history of the band, its releases, and its members.
Greetings to you and the readers, and many thanks for the interview.
ATOMSKI RAT started working at the end of 2008 in Šid, as you mentioned, a small border town in western Vojvodina.
The first lineup consisted of Tomas on guitar, Zlatko on drums, Bojan on vocals, and me on bass guitar. We rehearsed in Morović, a village near Šid, at our friend Srđan Stambolija’s place.
You know the story since you’ve been to one of our rehearsals before 🙂
We made our first recording in Sremska Mitrovica with the help of Jova Toljaga, a well-known figure 🙂 It was released as a self-published CD. We continued with the same lineup, had quite a few gigs, mainly in Vojvodina, and soon after recorded “Illusions of Reality” in Novi Sad. That is probably still our favorite release. It was released on cassette.
After that, Tomas left the band, and Igor replaced him.
We played many times in Subotica at the Insomnia festivals, organized by the now sadly deceased Damir Pavić Septik. There we met the band Kalo. They are like a brother band to us, and we did a mini tour with them in Croatia and Slovenia. Shortly after, we recorded material that would later become a split with Kalo. So far, that split hasn’t been released as a physical edition. Those interested can listen to it on our Bandcamp page.
After the split, we made new songs that later came out as the DIY CD “Twilight of Freedom”. The album was well received by the audience. But along with that came a kind of saturation, so Bojan left the band, and the rest of us decided not to continue. After a few years, we reunited, and Miler joined us on the second guitar. Then we recorded “Nekro San”.
It was recorded in 8 hours in Zemun with the help of Zoran Đuroski and Slobodan Đukić. “Nekro San” was released as a 12″ mLP on labels Terminal Records from Greece and Angry Voice Records from Germany. This all happened parallel to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the record came out only in 2022. A few months after that, Bojan left the band again, and Miler switched from guitar to vocals. We are still active in that lineup today. In the meantime, we had a few mini tours in Greece, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
You cultivate your sound and don’t give up on it, even though there’s almost no audience for it in Serbia, if I’m not mistaken?
That’s right.
From the very beginning, we have been driven by our stubbornness!
I don’t know how to translate this so foreigners understand .. hahaha.
Simply put, even before we started the band, we listened to extreme hardcore and grindcore.
Swedish and Finnish 80s, Ex-YU HC, and politically engaged grindcore like AGATHOCLES, TERRORIZER, NAPALM DEATH, BRUTAL TRUTH…
The natural course of things was that all those influences flowed into the work of ATOMSKI RAT.
We don’t cater to anyone and keep pushing forward.
There is an audience, but not a lot. My impression is that American punk from the first half of the 80s and NYC hardcore was more cultivated here.
The Serbian underground scene, except in neighboring countries, especially in Croatia, is not so well-known or recognized. Why is that, where do you see yourself in it, and do you think there have been any changes compared to some previous period?
I agree with you. I’ve thought a lot about why that’s the case. I simply think that bands from Eastern Europe, especially the Balkans, are somehow sidelined on that European punk scene.
For what reason, I don’t know. Maybe it’s a language or cultural barrier, maybe something else, but it’s been like that since before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
I feel like we’re still exotic to people from Western Europe. The situation has changed a bit since the advent of the internet.
Of course, there are exceptions to that, let’s call it a rule. For example, I would mention the Macedonian band DISEASE.
Serbia currently has quite a few bands touring Europe, so I hope that means some progress in that sense.
What obstacles do you encounter the most as a band, and what is the hardest and easiest part of being in a non-mainstream band?
I guess that depends on the band and the engagement of the members. In principle, the hardest thing is finding free time for rehearsals and concerts due to jobs, family, etc.
Some bands go on tour for 10-20 days. For us as a band, that’s science fiction. That’s why we value those moments when there are rehearsals or gigs, because it’s an opportunity to hang out and have fun with friends from the band and the audience. The best is that spontaneous moment between us, i.e., us and the audience.
Moments before, during, and especially after the gig… haha.
Which bands have had the most influence on the sound of Atomski Rat?
When Bojan and I started playing, we mostly listened to Finnish, Swedish, and Ex-YU punk HC from the 80s. Bands like ANTICIMEX, KAAOS, BASTARDS, KUOLEMA, U.B.R., DISTRESS… Of course, also politically charged grindcore from the late 80s… We still listen to that today, of course.
The truth is that we tried to sound like that, but in the end, it turned out to be a sound with our own twist, because Tomas and Zlaja listened to old-school thrash, death, and black metal.
Later, Igor and Miler brought their influences, so I would say the sound is some kind of combination of all that.
Label or DIY and why?
As I mentioned, we had DIY releases, and the last album was released in cooperation with two labels from Greece and Germany. Although those are labels that function on a DIY basis. I have no problem with that, as long as it doesn’t affect the band’s sound. I don’t know how it is with big labels, where someone orders you to record one album a year. I think that doesn’t lead to anything, in terms of quality, of course.
How much has the internet helped the band’s work? Do you rely on any music platforms?
I can say that it’s one of the better aspects of the internet. Communication and promotion of bands are much easier, and the band has the opportunity to promote more easily than before the internet era. We return again to the story of bands from the Balkans, and that is perhaps an exception to the rule. One downside to all this is that everything is available, and there’s too much of everything. It’s oversaturated. For now, we have Facebook and Bandcamp pages, where all the releases with lyrics are available.
Where do you find inspiration for your sound and lyrics, and who is most involved in them?
The lyrics aren’t exactly in the spirit of positive hardcore… hahaha. Considering that since the early 90s to today, wars, hatred, nationalism, and social problems have been revolving in this region, we can say those are the main themes in the lyrics. The sound follows the lyrics. Raw, fast, heavy, and rigid.
Most of the lyrics were written by Bojan, and sometimes by other members. I must also mention Romac, who wrote the lyrics for the songs “Sign of War” and “Bloodthirsty Clones” on the album “Nekro San.”
Your lyrics are based on the Serbian language. Can we expect some future release in English?
At the beginning, it was agreed that the lyrics would be written in Serbian. Whether they will be in English or some other language in a future release is very possible.
An internal agreement is that there are no rules, in sound, in lyrics, and everything else. We’ll see where it all takes us. Although, everything is slowly heading towards glam metal as the ultimate music genre. I’m kidding, or maybe not…
How much do you think album covers play a role in the band, and who has been in charge of that so far?
The visual aspect is very important to us. The drawing should follow the lyrics and the sound, so it’s quite certain that you won’t see flowers and balloons on our covers.
The first few covers were drawn by Kukatz. A legend from Požega, who has been in the scene since the 80s. The cover for “Nekro San” was drawn by Ivan Kocev (Fuck Yoga Records) from Skopje.
Where can people see and hear you live in the near future?
We play mostly wherever we are invited, but we are rarely invited… hahaha. Maybe this interview will change things… For now, two gigs are planned:
October 19th, Belgrade, Serbia
February 15th, 2025, Požega, Croatia
…and probably two gigs in Timișoara and Bucharest in the spring of 2025.
What is the best way fans can support the band?
The best way is to come and support the band live. Buying merch is, of course, a good thing, but coming to gigs is the most important thing to me. The exchange of energy between the band and the audience is the driving force of everything.
Top 3 best Serbian beers?
Lav Premium 0.33
Valjevsko 0.33
Zaječarsko 0.33
Of course, in glass. The best beer I’ve ever had is draft Pilsner Urquell in the Czech Republic.
Message for old and future fans?
Be yourselves and stand your ground… Death to fake punk!!!!
Follow ATOMSKI RAT:
Bandcamp: https://atomskirat.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063619535843&mibextid=ZbWKwL
