Releasedate:   04-05-2026
Label: Big Bad Wolf Records / Headbangers Records

Hailing from Dokkum in Friesland, Dutch thrash metal band Atmoran have been building towards their debut album for several years. The band, consisting of Frank van der Ploeg, Klaas Haaksma, Max van der Meij and Wiebe van Kammen, has already gained live experience on the Dutch metal circuit, including an appearance at Into the Grave. Their first full-length, We Fight Back!, finally arrives with nine tracks and just over 32 minutes of music. It is a debut that wastes very little time making its intentions clear.

We Fight Back! is firmly rooted in modern thrash metal, but Atmoran refuses to keep things entirely within the traditional boundaries of the genre. Groove, death-metal influences and occasional black-metal touches add weight to the songs, while the riffs remain the main driving force. The opening tracks The Cross and Selfish immediately establish that formula, combining aggressive vocals with heavy, headbang-friendly grooves. The production also deserves praise: the guitars are heavy without becoming muddy, while the drums and bass remain clearly audible in the mix.

The album is at its strongest when Atmoran allow their different influences to collide. Penumbra, the short instrumental track, temporarily breaks the aggression with atmospheric guitars and an unexpected chord progression before returning to the band’s heavier sound. Wholesale Massacre offers another strong riff, although its verse and chorus are somewhat more straightforward than the surrounding material. These moments prevent We Fight Back! from becoming a predictable thrash exercise, even if not every experiment works equally well. The title track provides an appropriately energetic finale, bringing the album back to its core strengths of sharp riffing, groove and aggression.

We Fight Back! is a confident debut from a band that clearly knows what it wants to sound like. Atmoran combine modern thrash with groove and darker influences without losing sight of the riff. The result is compact, energetic and easy to return to. For fans of aggressive modern thrash with a strong groove component, Atmoran are definitely a band worth keeping an eye on.

Line up:

• Frank van der Ploeg – vocals
• Klaas Haaksma – guitar
• Max van der Meij – drums
• Wiebe van Kammen – bass & backing vocals

Links:

Official
Bandcamp