Atomic Youth aren’t your usual progressive metal band—mainly because they aren’t a band at all, but four fictional, 3D-rendered characters from England who thrive in a world equal parts satire, folklore, and experimental noise. Since forming in 2016, they’ve been pushing the edges of prog, folk, electronic music, and chiptune under the self-described banner of Wyrd Metal. Their latest project, Sunset Trajectory (East Edition), takes everything they’ve built so far and throws it into a blender of riffs, surreal storytelling, and deliberately crooked time signatures. The result is as confusing as it is fascinating, and that’s the point.
Originally released as a quietly overlooked EP, Sunset Trajectory has been revived, expanded, and reimagined for this “East Edition.” True to Atomic Youth’s ethos, it arrives with more than just music: there are parody press releases, mock interviews, a website that looks hacked, and even an upcoming video game. It’s all part of the band’s multimedia satire of music culture. If you don’t get the joke, that’s fine—because the riffs, at least, are completely real.
Musically, Sunset Trajectory (East Edition) is a messy but deliberate collision of influences. Guitarist Little Johnny drops crooked riffs that veer between Allan Holdsworth-style complexity and outright parody. Jam Ælfwin’s drums wander through odd time signatures that sometimes sound like Morris dancing filtered through Meshuggah. Bassist Juice Longshanks provides swampy low-end groove, while Jingo Scribbins’ mix of flute, synths, and experimental textures pushes the sound into even stranger territory. It’s prog, but it’s prog that knows it’s falling down the stairs.
The tracks themselves are as unpredictable as their backstory. “While” supposedly came from a dream about Fort Boyard, blending math-rock percussion with eerie folk motifs. “Uranium Falcon,” written under the curse of a “turnip priest,” takes prog-metal theatrics and filters them through a haze of scrumpy cider. Even when the songs feel absurd, the musicianship is sharp and surprisingly evocative. The bonus material pushes the weirdness further, with remixes and multilingual adaptations that seem designed to confuse as much as to entertain.
What makes Sunset Trajectory (East Edition) stand out is not just the sound but the storytelling. Every detail—from rehearsals behind a banana factory to their supposed expulsion from a Renaissance fair—adds to the mythos. This metafictional approach isn’t a gimmick so much as part of the band’s identity. They blur the line between satire and sincerity, creating a universe where prog-metal riffs, English folklore, and video game logic all coexist in a single, surreal continuum.
For all its absurd humor, the record also demonstrates how far Atomic Youth have come in defining their corner of the underground. Wyrd Metal might not be a recognized genre, but Sunset Trajectory (East Edition) makes a compelling case for its existence. It’s chaotic, funny, unsettling, and oddly beautiful—like four badgers arguing in a bin, but in perfect harmony.
If you want music that fits neatly into playlists, this probably isn’t for you. But if you’re willing to enter Atomic Youth’s strange and playful universe, Sunset Trajectory (East Edition) is proof that prog can still surprise, confuse, and delight all at once.
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