Atheist (band)

Last updated

Atheist
Atheist Evolution Festival 1.jpg
Atheist at Evolution Festival 2006
Background information
Also known as
  • Oblivion (1984-1985)
  • R.A.V.A.G.E. (1985-1987)
Origin Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Genres
Years active1987–1992, 1993–1994, 2006–present
Labels
MembersKelly Shaefer
Dylan Marks
Yoav Ruiz-Feingold
Alex Haddad
Jerry Witunsky

Atheist is a Florida death metal band from Sarasota, Florida, founded in 1987.

Contents

The band's original lineup consisted vocalist and rhythm guitarist Kelly Shaefer, lead guitarist Rand Burkey, bassist Roger Patterson and drummer Steve Flynn. [3] The band is known for its highly technical playing style, and its 1991 album Unquestionable Presence is regarded as a landmark of the technical death metal genre. [4] The band managed to gain a reputation in the underground. [5] After disbanding in 1994, the group reformed in 2006 and has since released one studio album and a live DVD.[ citation needed ]

History

Atheist in 2006 Atheist by Christian Misje.jpg
Atheist in 2006

The band was originally formed in 1984 in Sarasota, Florida, firstly under the name Oblivion and later as R.A.V.A.G.E. (which stands for "Raging Atheists Vowing A Gory End"). [6] They released their first album, Piece of Time , in 1989. Shortly before entering the studio to record their second album, Roger Patterson died on February 12, 1991, in a car accident at the age of 22. Shortly afterwards, they recruited ex-Pestilence and Cynic bassist Tony Choy to record their second album, Unquestionable Presence . [3] Atheist disbanded for the first time in 1992, then reunited in 1993 to record a third album, Elements , [3] fulfilling their contractual requirements, before disbanding for a second time in early 1994.

Seven years after their second breakup, Shaefer decided to re-release and remaster their three albums with different bonus tracks.

Relapse Records reissued the band's three albums in late 2005, as well as a vinyl box set containing the three albums plus the R.A.V.A.G.E. demo "On They Slay". Flynn formed the band Gnostic in the same year. In January 2006, Atheist announced they were regrouping to perform live during the summer and autumn. The line-up was Shaefer, Burkey, Choy and Flynn. Shaefer only provided vocals due to long battles with tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. [7] The Gnostic guitarist Sonny Carson played all of Shaefer's guitar parts, while Burkey was later replaced by Chris Baker of Gnostic.

On July 12, 2008, Shaefer issued a statement indicating that he and Flynn were working on new material. [8] A month later, Shaefer announced that they had commenced the recording of a new studio album, which would be their first in over 15 years. The band toured Europe and the US in 2009 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Piece of Time. A live DVD filmed at the Wacken Open Air Festival appeared towards the end of the year. [9]

On July 11, 2010, Atheist revealed that their fourth studio album would be called Jupiter and was set for a November release. [10] They signed a deal with Season of Mist and Jupiter was released on November 8, 2010. [11]

On August 3, 2010, Shaefer and Flynn announced on behalf of the band that Tony Choy would not be appearing on Jupiter but was still likely to appear in live performances with the band due to his own musical aspirations. [12] The band announced in 2014 that it was working on a fifth studio album, which was planned to be released in 2015; [13] however, the album would be left unreleased for over half a decade.

In February 2018, Atheist signed with Agonia Records, [14] and the band plans to release their fifth studio album for the label. [15]

Musical style and legacy

Atheist are considered one of the pioneers of technical death metal. Mike DaRonco of Allmusic said Atheist are "arguably the ultimate progressive metal band of their day". [16] Atheist have also been noted for elements of thrash metal, jazz and progressive rock present in their music. [17] According to Langdon Hickman of Invisible Oranges, "Like almost every metal band of the 1980s, Atheist also did not go untouched by progressive metal. Progressive rock mostly filtered into heavy metal through those 1970s hard rock and heavy metal bands that laid [the] foundational roots for the metal of the 1980s." [18] Vocalist Kelly Shaefer said, "One of the main reasons Atheist ended up being such a strange band was we were trying so hard not to sound like anybody else that we went way overboard. We were outsiders within an outsider's scene so we made it doubly hard for ourselves." [19]

Members

Current

Former

Timeline

Atheist (band)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obituary (band)</span> American death metal band

Obituary is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1984. Initially called Executioner, they were one of the fundamental acts in the development of the death metal genre, and are one of the genre's most successful bands of all time. Obituary has released eleven studio albums and, with the exception of a five-year hiatus from 1998 to 2003, they continue to perform live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannibal Corpse</span> American death metal band

Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death (metal band)</span> American death metal band

Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1983 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, drummer/vocalist Kam Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz. Formed out of what would become the Florida death metal scene, Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal music and a pioneering force in death metal. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.

<i>Piece of Time</i> 1989 studio album by Atheist

Piece of Time is the debut album by Florida death metal band Atheist, recorded in 1988 and released locally on August 30, 1989 through Metal Blade Records, and internationally in 1990 through Active Records.

<i>Unquestionable Presence</i> 1991 studio album by Atheist

Unquestionable Presence is the second studio album by American death metal band Atheist. It was released in 1991 and added a new sound by using jazz-like harmonies, subtle Latin rhythms and unusual time signatures.

<i>Elements</i> (Atheist album) 1993 studio album by Atheist

Elements is the third studio album released by Florida technical death metal band Atheist, released on August 30, 1993, by Music for Nations in Europe and by Metal Blade Records in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pestilence (band)</span> Dutch death metal band

Pestilence is a Dutch death metal band founded in Enschede in 1986. They have been through various membership changes throughout their existence, with guitarist-vocalist Patrick Mameli as the sole constant member. After disbanding in order to pursue other musical directions in 1994, Pestilence reunited in 2008, and was put on a "permanent hold" in July 2014. However, the band reunited once again in October 2016. To date, Pestilence has released ten studio albums, and they are one of "technical death metal's Big Four", along with Death, Atheist, and Cynic.

Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal, and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing albums of avant-garde metal, gothic metal and punk bands as well. The label has two offices, one in Marseille, France and one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Choy</span> Musical artist

Tony Choy is a Cuban-American electric bassist. He was a session musician for some well-known technical death metal bands such as Atheist, Cynic and the Dutch band Pestilence. He is known for his use of the Slap & Pop playing technique, along with two-handed tapping.

Technical death metal is a musical subgenre of death metal with particular focus on instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Technical and progressive experimentation in death metal began in the late 1980s and early 1990s, largely driven by four bands that, according to Allmusic, are "technical death metal's Big Four" – Death, Pestilence, Atheist, and Cynic. All but Pestilence are part of the Florida death metal scene, to which Nocturnus, another influential band, also belongs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimson Glory</span> American heavy metal band

Crimson Glory is an American heavy metal band that was formed in 1983 in Sarasota, Florida, USA. It started in 1979 under the name Pierced Arrow, then Beowulf, before settling on Crimson Glory. The classic line-up consisted of the vocalist Midnight, guitarists Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson, bass guitarist Jeff Lords and drummer Dana Burnell. With that lineup, the band rose to international fame in the mid-1980s and was considered one of the pioneers of the American progressive metal movement, along with Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Watchtower. During its career, the band released four studio albums and one EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infernus</span> Norwegian black metal musician

Roger Tiegs, better known by his stage name Infernus, is a Norwegian black metal musician and Satanist. He is the sole founding member and chief ideologist of the black metal band Gorgoroth, formed in 1992, in addition to being the founder and head of Forces of Satan Records. While mainly a guitarist, Infernus has also participated as bassist, drummer and vocalist on several recordings released both by Gorgoroth and other bands.

Scott Burns is an American computer engineer and a former music producer of death metal records from late 1980s and 1990s. He was crucial to the emergence of the Florida death metal scene, and has been called an "extreme metal overlord".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enthroned</span> Belgian black metal band

Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynic (band)</span> American progressive metal band

Cynic is an American progressive metal band formed in Miami, Florida in 1987. The band has been primarily based in California since the late 1990s, marking a significant shift in their geographic and creative roots. Paul Masvidal originally served solely as the band's guitarist, but later took over as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Cynic incorporates elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal.

Neurotica was a heavy metal band, started around 1995 by singer Kelly Shaefer and guitarist Shawn Bowen. Performances in local clubs brought the band to the attention of AC/DC singer and Sarasota resident Brian Johnson, who helped them find a management deal and produced their debut album, Seed. The album was not a success, but the follow-up, Living in Dog Years, also produced by Johnson, and now featuring bassist Migwell Przybyl, was more impressive and earned the band a major-label deal with the WWF's SmackDown! Records.

<i>Jupiter</i> (Atheist album) 2010 studio album by Atheist

Jupiter is the fourth studio album by the Florida technical death metal band Atheist, released on November 8, 2010 through Season of Mist.

<i>Unquestionable Presence: Live at Wacken</i> 2009 live album by Atheist

Unquestionable Presence: Live At Wacken is a two disc live album by the technical death metal band Atheist. Disc one features the band's reunion performance at Wacken Open Air in 2006 and disc two features a compilation of Atheist tracks from previous albums.

Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially known by many death metal fans as the "capital of death metal." The scene coalesced in the mid-1980s through early 1990s around the output of bands such as Death, Nasty Savage, Deicide, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Obituary, and others. The producer Scott Burns and the studio Morrisound Recording were also instrumental in developing and popularizing the Florida scene. Some bands which originated outside of Florida, such as Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse, relocated to the state in order to participate in this burgeoning scene. The Florida bands featured a more technical approach to the evolving death metal sound, a style which spread beyond the confines of the state, and some were instrumental in creating the progressive death metal subgenre. The death metal genre as a whole, including the Florida scene, declined in popularity in the second half of the 1990s, but many bands within the Florida scene persisted and the scene resurged in popularity in subsequent decades. Although the scene attracted more media attention, it continued to be underground due to its extreme nature.

References

  1. ↑ DaRonco, Mike; Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Biography of Atheist". AllMusic . Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  2. ↑ Hickman, Langdon (October 12, 2018). "I'm Listening to Death Metal #2: Atheist's 'Unquestionable Presence'". Invisible Oranges . Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 36/7. ISBN   0-7535-0257-7.
  4. ↑ "Atheist Unquestionable Presence". AllMusic. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Atheist [Band Profile]". techdeathtest. January 22, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Atheist". Relapse Records. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
  7. ↑ "ATHEIST Regroup, Announce Exclusive ON LIVE TV Festival Appearances". Blabbermouth. Retrieved January 13, 2006.
  8. ↑ "ATHEIST Members Collaborating On First New Material Since 1991". Blabbermouth. Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
  9. ↑ "Atheist – Writing New Material". Metalstorm. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  10. ↑ "ATHEIST: New Album Title Revealed". Road runner records. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Legendary ATHEIST Signs With SEASON OF MIST". Blabbermouth. Archived from the original on March 14, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Atheist Part Ways With Tony Choy: News @". Season-of-mist. August 3, 2010. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  13. ↑ "ATHEIST Preparing To Record New Album". Road runner records. June 5, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  14. ↑ "ATHEIST Signs With AGONIA RECORDS; New Album Due This Year". Blabbermouth. February 21, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Atheist – To Headline European Tour In February 2022". Metal Storm. April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  16. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/atheist-mn0000931546#biography
  17. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon WiederhornJon (August 31, 2017). "Death Metal 101: The History of Death Metal". Loudwire. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  18. ↑ Hickman, Langdon. "I'm Listening to Death Metal #2: Atheist's "Unquestionable Presence"". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  19. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon. "Florida Death Metal's Gory Rise, Groundbreaking Reign: The Definitive Oral History". Revolver. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.