Reviewing for The Village Voice in September 1986, Robert Christgau wrote that, "Though they don't want you to know it, these hateful little twerps are sensitive souls—they're moved to make this godawful racket by the godawful pain of the world, which they learn about reading everything from textbooks to bondage mags. Big Black was started by Steve Albini in 1982 while he was attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Don't worry about their longevity, as Philips will pronounce them obsolete when the next phase of the market-squeezing technology bonanza begins.That same year, the band recorded and released the 7” of ‘The Model’ / ‘He’s A Whore’ as well as their second full-length album, ‘Songs About Fucking’. Instead, Steve Albini expressed his general dislike for the compact disc format in the CD's liner notes, saying, "This compact disc, compiled to exploit those of you gullible enough to own the bastardly first generation digital music system, contains all- analog masters. The album gained immediate notoriety due to its stark lyrics discussing the seedier, more disturbing aspects of human life – child sex abuse, corrupt cops, domestic abuse, volunteering at a slaughterhouse to kill cows for fun, or just growing up in a rural town and finding your only joy or entertainent in setting things on fire and fucking – so you get the bright idea to combine the two and see what happens. Vincent (live at the Our Band Could Be Your Life 10th Anniversary Show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom on May 22, 2011.

In the year after Atomizer's release, Big Black recorded their 4-song Headache EP and released it with a sticker that bore the words, "Warning!You should take every opportunity to scratch them, fingerprint them, and eat egg and bacon sandwiches off them.

Homestead Records also issued "Big Money" and "Il Duce" the A-side of a 12" record with three live songs on the B-side (including the live version of "Cables" that would appear on Atomizer) with the agreement that the 12" be used for promotional purposes only.Instrumentally, Atomizer is a wailing behemoth of assaultive Roland beats, Steve Albini and Santiago Durango's clanging and whirring guitars, and new member Dave Riley's lumberjack bass. My copy (bought new in '86) has white labels, plain white inner sleeve with a printed insert, so make of that what you will. Soon after, Steve recruited Jeff Pezzati (Naked Raygun) on bass and Santiago Durango (also Naked Raygun) joined them on guitar. The label sent the promo 12" to radio stations, then sold extra copies outside of Big Black's native Chicago, hoping the band would never find out. That same year Atomizer was compiled onto compact disc along with the Headache EP and the band's "Heartbeat" single under the name, The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape.

It's also Albini at his most plainspoken and bleak: "Stare at the wall/Stare at each other and wait 'til we die. The song "Kerosene" has been covered by Kerbdog (as a b-side to their single " End of Green" [22]), Pitchshifter (on the "enhanced" version of their album Deviant [23]), Lamb of God (on their album Legion: XX, under their original name Burn the Priest [24]) and St.

Additionally, Atomizer and all post-Atomizer releases by the band do not feature the TR-606, instead opting for the E-mu Drumulator.