Atomic Rule — the new band featuring former Every Time I Die guitarist Andy Williams and ex-members of the Acacia Strain — have unveiled a three-song demo EP, and it crushes. Funnily enough, the heavy act’s mini-release arrives under a fitting and weighty title: With Skull Crushing Force.
While the EP arrived on streamers today (September 26th), the release had previously been teased by the band across their socials, via detuned-and-doomily-grooved audio snippets and a promise that our ears would “leak gold” once faced with their first studio release.
It begins with the aptly-titled “Song One,” which revels in moments of deep-chugged sludge, progressive metalcore and more. Acoustic mood-making kicks off “LIZARD,” while “Bone Lady” is a dark, doomily distorted and femur-snapping finale.
Atomic Rule comprises ex-ETID 6-stringer and AEW wrestler Williams, as well as bassist Travis Bennington (Eternal Sleep), drummer Kevin Boutot (Dry Kill Logic, ex-The Acacia Strain) and vocalist James Hendergroove.
Williams and Bennington had formed the band in 2023, and a different lineup had performed at last year’s Blissmas concert in Buffalo, New York. They’d mostly played a set of instrumentals that night, and shortly thereafter, the band went onto Instagram in search of a vocalist. Earlier this month, they confirmed the current lineup, and the impending arrival of their With Skull Crushing Force.
“Atomic Rule has been exactly how I’ve always wanted a band to feel like. In the past, the pieces were never all there. This feels like a team, trying to deliver their best,” Williams wrote on his personal IG, adding that Hendergroove possesses “the voice I hear when I’m writing riffs.”
You can sample the cranium-bashing debut recording up above, while a few upcoming dates — including some with Better Lovers, the hardcore supergroup featuring three fellow ex-ETID members — are down below.
Atomic Rule live dates 2025:
11/14 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club ^
11/15 Jacksonville, FL The Albatross ^
12/12 Buffalo, NY Ironworks !
^ with Better Lovers, Soul Blind, Hong Kong Fuck You
! with Zao, Generation of Vipers, Gloomer