{"id":6075,"date":"2025-10-08T15:44:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T14:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/?p=6075"},"modified":"2025-10-08T15:49:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T14:49:08","slug":"reactor-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/arts\/2025\/10\/08\/reactor-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Reactor: As Rome Burns’ new EP review"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cole Rashid Michelon<\/strong><\/p>\n

The up-and-coming indie\/rock band, As Rome Burns, released a brilliant new EP on the 26th of September. <\/span>Reactor<\/span><\/i>, as it\u2019s called, reflects on the common feeling of trepidation that stems from the ever-deteriorating nature of modern society, but still shows the spirit of perseverance that speaks to the heart of humanity. <\/span>Reactor<\/span><\/i>, whose album cover shows an abandoned home below nuclear reactors, fully embodies the spirit of rock\/punk. In this article, I will be breaking down the songs in <\/span>Reactor<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u2013 I hope you, the readers, will be encouraged to listen to this wonderful band.<\/span><\/p>\n

Song 1: \u2018Animal\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The song starts with a distorted, loud and lingering chord. Immediately it captures the listener and gives a sense of chaos and urgency. The song goes on to repeat \u2018I am an animal\u2019 in an enraged, passionate scream with a subtle undertone of depression and, frankly, hopelessness. This howl almost impersonates an animal\u2019s, as if scaring predators away \u2013 this highlights, however, the animal\u2019s vulnerability. The band has explained how this song reflects UK politics and the state of the world: it\u2019s an anthem of protest on an individual level against the recent, and concerning, shift in political atmosphere. Between the lead guitarist screaming through his pickups and the team reportedly smashing up a bin, As Rome Burns says in their press release that this song came together as if it were second nature. The process of making it seems to be one the band will not soon forget.<\/span><\/p>\n

Song 2: \u2018I Am Your Enemy\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In stark contrast to \u2018Animals\u2019, this song has a gradual buildup. It opens with a dreary static sound and then a few simple, gentle chords followed by a melancholic voice. Paring with the voice, the lyrics explore intergenerational trauma and its cycles. It\u2019s a relatable song for the many hurt and lost people in this generation (no wonder this is a fan favourite!). The song was made to be raw and unapologetic. Intergenerational trauma isn\u2019t often spoken about: the trauma doesn\u2019t stem from a single instance, so people often worry about sharing theirs. Because of this, the sheer emotion of this song is a voice that resonates with so many.<\/span><\/p>\n

Song 3: \u2018I Think You Should Leave\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Admittedly, this song is my least favourite \u2013 but I still play it on repeat. It\u2019s the most uplifting song in the album, starting with a very funky and up-beat baseline, although still handling similar themes as the rest.\u00a0The song was written while band members fought through a particularly hard period of poor mental health. The lyric \u2018I just want to get better\u2019 eventually changes to \u2018I think you should leave\u2019 as the struggle is overcome. It is a brilliant way to end the EP and an inspiring, hopeful take on journeys of mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, the EP explores themes of mental health and the experiences of people looking for change. The EP is wonderfully constructed, taking inspiration from artists like Wet Leg and Rage Against the Machine, while simultaneously putting an As Rome Burns spin on things. I could not recommend anyone to listen to them more, hence why I have taken to writing this article. So please, I implore you, stream their music at least once, so you can have the experience of listening to the talent that every member in this band possesses.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cole Rashid Michelon The up-and-coming indie\/rock band, As Rome Burns, released a brilliant new EP on the 26th of September. Reactor, as it\u2019s called, reflects on the common feeling of trepidation that stems from the ever-deteriorating nature of modern society, but still shows the spirit of perseverance that speaks to the heart of humanity. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":6077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":23,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,151],"tags":[555,755,1010,520,1402,1405,287,1403,1404],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts","8":"category-reviews","9":"tag-album","10":"tag-arts","11":"tag-band","12":"tag-cole-michelon","13":"tag-ep","14":"tag-indie","15":"tag-music","16":"tag-music-review","17":"tag-rock"},"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Cole Michelon","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/cole-michelon\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DSC07466-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Arts<\/a>","Reviews<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Arts<\/span>","Reviews<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Album<\/a>","arts<\/a>","band<\/a>","Cole Michelon<\/a>","ep<\/a>","indie<\/a>","Music<\/a>","music review<\/a>","rock<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Album<\/span>","arts<\/span>","band<\/span>","Cole Michelon<\/span>","ep<\/span>","indie<\/span>","Music<\/span>","music review<\/span>","rock<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 10 months ago","modified":"Updated 10 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 8 October 2025","modified":"Updated on 8 October 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 8 October 2025 15:44","modified":"Updated on 8 October 2025 15:49"},"featured_img_caption":"Photo by maxjamesphotography","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6075"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6084,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075\/revisions\/6084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6075"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=6075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}