Atheist

Your Music Cricket has tossed around the name Atheist a few times before. With their first new album out in seventeen years, this is a great opportunity to praise one of the most influential and interesting bands in progressive death metal. For fans of the genre Atheist needs no introduction, but for the rest of you, let’s dig in some history. Atheist belongs to the Florida scene, including Death and Cynic, that took cues from San Francisco Bay Area Thrashers Slayer, and combined it with the dexterous velocity of Tampa Bay bands like Morbid Angel and Deicide. Atheist further incorporated jazz and progressive elements to create a unique blend of aggressive riffs, syncopated time signature shifts, and incredibly inventive leads. Those leads and solos were courtesy of guitarist Rand Burkey, while the main riffs tended to come from Kelly Shaefer, who also offered hoarse shrieks – rather than the usual death grunts and growls. However, credit is also due to bassist Roger Patterson not only for his impressively complex rhythmic patterns, but also for inspiring many of the songs’ riffs. Among the founding members, in addition to Shaefer and Patterson, there’s drummer Steve Flynn to round up the swinging rhythm sections with more technical talent.

After several demos in the later ’80s, Atheist’s debut album, Piece of Time, was first released in Europe in 1989, and only half a year later in the U.S. With songs between no more than two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half minutes, Atheist here crams in a remarkable mass of shifts and turns, whirlwind riffs, and blistering solos. Lyrically there is more than just the standard metal fare of doom, death, destruction and damnation. Songs deal with the meaning of life and death, the transmigration of the soul, evangelist propaganda, political hypocrisy, and social commentary. Atheist took technical proficiency to an even higher level on their sophomore output, Unquestionable Presence (1991). Although the songs are on average barely half a minute longer, they were somehow able to include even more progressive, jazzy, and latin elements, more baffling riffs, more tempo changes and more time signatures. Unquestionably a classic presence in the progressive/technical death metal genre. Sadly, by the time of its release Roger Patterson had died in a touring bus accident eerily similar to the death of Metallica’s Cliff Burton.

The band returned with their most variegated album Elements (1993), with Tony Choy now performing bass guitar duties. A third guitarist, Frank Emmi, was brought in to share lead responsibilities with Burkey, while Flynn was replaced by Josh Greenbaum. The complex progressive, jazzy, and latin elements take yet greater pride of place on this effort, without losing too much in brutal aggression. Perhaps less intriguing or fitting are a few shorter, atmospheric interludes, and even a samba piece. To these ears the album would have done better without them. The mains tracks, about half a minute longer again than on the previous outing, though, remain personal favorites. Elements was written and recorded in just forty days to fulfill contractual obligations, after which Atheist disbanded. Tony Choy, meanwhile, performed with death metal acts Cynic and Pestilence, while Kelly Shaefer went on to form the more rock-oriented Neurotica. And that, fans had to accept, was it for Atheist.

Rumors of reunions started floating in the new millennium, getting more serious by 2005/6. Fans met the news no doubt with equal anticipation as trepidation – for the chance of disappointment was great. Shaefer, Burkey, Choy and Flynn did regroup for live performances, and after a few more years and some line-up changes later, Atheist released their first new album since 1993 earlier this month, entitled Jupiter. At the opening riff, the first things that comes to mind is tech-death/math-core acts like Ion Dissonance, or, dare I mention the name? The Dillinger Escape Plan. In hardly over half an hour, Jupiter nonetheless packs a terrific punch of ravaging riffs, swirling leads, and rhythmic madness that spells Atheist for the new millennium! By the second track you’ve already forgotten that this is a come-back album. The production is crisp and clean, and allows each instrument to breathe its asphyxiating last breath throughout. The lead parts, now courtesy of Chris Baker and Jonathan Thompson, remain as impressively progressive as before. Choy, alas, chose to give priority to his successful venture into latin pop, while Burkey was prevented from participating due to legal issues. At any rate, this Cricket is mighty pleased that Atheist is back in business!