Atomic Opera is a prog-metal band formed in Houston, Texas in 1991. The band’s founder, singer and guitarist Frank Hart teamed up with producer Sam Taylor, who had a surprising connection to ZZ Top – Taylor was the video coordinator for the Eliminator album. Taylor had already seemed an important figure in the Houston metal scene for a few years when he met Hart. “Houston metal” in this article refers primarily to the soundscape and production of King’s X and the early Galactic Cowboys: multipart harmonies and a bold mix of metal, prog, country and blues. Atomic Opera also fell into this interesting category with their debut album.
In 1994, a representative of the Giant Records label saw Atomic Opera perform, and the band was immediately signed to this subsidiary label of Warner Bros. The album For Madmen Only was produced by the aforementioned Sam Taylor.
If you have read this far, I can only thank you for your patience. And while you’re here, here’s a surprising (?) detail about Atomic Opera: they are a Christian rock band. You can see this above all in the lyrics of the band. On the other hand, band’s output often even takes a critical view of religion and Christianity.
Joyride, reportedly the only single and music video from the band’s debut album, is an incredibly tight package of prog metal, four-tone harmonies, grunge and a Christian message. I’m not interested in the Christian message per se, but I have to admit that it adds a rather intriguing spice to this soup. And in silhouettes in a video like this one, the band looks impossibly stylish!
