Interview with guitarist Martin Söderqvist of Smash Atoms // All Time Metal \\

On the occasion of the release of the single "Into the Light" and their upcoming debut album, I spoke with the band's guitarist Martin Söderqvist.

— Let's start from the beginning. Smash Atoms was formed in 2012 in Gothenburg by you and 3 other musicians. Who was the other musicians? Although the band was very successful, almost 2 years later it disbanded, why?

M: The other musicians were Per Romvall on bass and Glen Gilbert on vocals, and they are both in the band today. The fourth member was Johan Engelin, a surf rock drummer who was later replaced by Ola Lindström formerly of Hide the Knives which is the band that Glen Gilbert also came from.

Smash Atoms actually didn’t disband, it was just Glen Gilbert who left the band during the recording of the first album. The band then went on as a trio under the name The Torch and Martin (me) as guitarist and lead vocalist.

— What about the 2 albums you recorded as The Torch, can they be included in the Smash Atoms discography, or do they remain exclusively recorded by The Torch?

M: The two albums won’t be included in the Smash Atoms discography but we will re-record the songs that originally had Glen’s melodies and vocals on them for our next album.

— Due to lineup changes, what is the current lineup in Smash Atoms?

M: The current line up is Glen Gilbert on lead vocals, Martin Söderqvist (me) on guitars and vocals, Per Romvall on bass and Peter Derenius on drums.

— The information I have is that your debut album will be released in September 2024, under what label?, give us some information about it.

M: Our long awaited debut album will finally be released on october 11th through Las Vegas based label M-Theory audio on CD, digital and on splatter vinyl (!!!)

— Smash Atoms music is Grunge with influence from the 90's, what bands from that era have influenced you?

M: The main bands that influenced us from the 90-s are Alice in Chains, King’s X, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden but also bands like Days of the New, Candlebox and Silverchair.

— In the creation of music and lyrics, are all the members of the band involved, or has this particular piece been taken over by a member?

M: I am the lone creator of the riffs and the lyrics, but the arrangement of the songs are done by the whole band. Glen also has a big part in tweaking the vocal melodies to fit his style of singing.

— Does the band intend to do a tour or live shows to promote the album?

M: Yes we are currently playing a few dates in Sweden during the summer, as well as the Ackerbrand festival in Germany on Augst 24th, We are in talks with booking agencies about some type of tour to support the album.

— Send your message to the Rock/Metal international music scene and to your fans.

M: To all of you out there who are into real music, created by a real rock band: come to our shows, and enjoy our music. Yes it’s dark but it also gives hope in a dark world. And this album is just the beginning for us.