Warthur Unquestionable Presence is not an album which will yield its secrets on a single listen - but one listen will be enough to convince anyone that it's a groundbreaking moment in death metal, taking the technicality of the genre to the next level by including far more jazz-inspired time signatures and motifs to the music than the preceding Piece of Time (which was hardly simple and straightforward itself). At points, the music resembles the work of the Minutemen, whose work in fusing avant-jazz in hardcore punk was another great example of shoving some jazz in a genre which didn't seem built for it and coming up with brilliant results.

Conor Fynes 'Unquestionable Presence' - Athiest (8/10)

All opinions aside, there is no question or doubt that Athiest, and their second album 'Unquestionable Presence' are legend within death metal. At the dawn of the 1990s, the genre was still in its infancy, and was still considered to be largely untested grounds in a global metal scene that was slowly giving weigh to a less controversial and accessible sound. Instead of going the route that existing metal giants like Metallica and Kreator would go with watering down their thrashy sound, Florida metallers Athiest dabbled in a fusion of genres that had rarely -if ever- touched upon; merging the death metal sound with jazz. Having now virtually been done to death over the two decades since this album's release, 'Unquestionable Presence' may sound familiar by today's standards, but even disregarding its massive historical context and innovation, the album is a powerhouse of talent and energy, leaving ample room for its interpretation as being a masterpiece, despite some imbalances in the songwriting throughout its relatively short length.

The music here is rooted in the love of the riff, and Kelly Schaefer's unique thrash/death vocal style. Under the howl of the higher-register guitar riffs are also some very impressive bass riffs played by Tony Choy; certainly a highlight of the sound here. However, each musician seems to take a comparable footing in the sound here. The guitars generally lead the course of the song through fast-paced, constantly changing and developing riffs and leads, with the rhythm section adding a huge element to the sound. Unfortunately, while the musicianship here is top notch, the production of the album feels rather weak, leaving some parts of the mix a bit muddy and many guitar tones sounding tinny, especially for the more melodic playing. The drums here do feel as they could have used more of a showcase, as it is clear that Steve Flynn is a remarkable jazz-influenced drummer.

Of course, there are also the vocals themselves, presented here by Athiest's founding frontman Kelly Schaefer. While my first experience with the music of Athiest really did not lend well to my appreciation of his thrashy, very distinct style of growling, it does grow with time. His far less guttural approach that most death metal singers gives Athiest a very thrash metal vibe, which I have noticed strongly in much other Florida death acts. While Schaefer's vocals may be the most distinct aspect of the mix however, they can be inconsistent in how effective they are throughout different parts of the album; at times having brilliant rhythmic flow, and at others feeling quite underwhelming.

The songwriting here is especially unique for the death metal at the time, still a very young genre in itself. Athiest's defining trait is its jazz sensibilities, which certainly doesn't show through much of the metal-heavy guitar work of Rand Burkey or Schaefer, but instead through Steve Flynn's jazzy fills and Choy's latin-tinged slap bass solos. The music here is complex and rapidfiring for most of the album, although some songs certainly leave more of an impression than others. Being quite a short album (which some could say is a weakness when purchasing), the music never gets old, but the first three songs (the classic 'Mother Man' through 'Your Life's Retribution') do feel as if they keep up the optimum flow and power to them. From there, the album feels a bit less cohesive and memorable in its riffs, although by no means ever getting uninteresting. For all its worth, the technicality and intensity stays very high throughout.

There is no denying what 'Unquestionable Presence' and the dudes from Athiest have done here for death metal and fusion music, despite the flaws and imperfections that weaken the overall impression. As it stands, Athiest's second album is a very strong album- easily a landmark- and much worth a listen for a dose of energetic, complex metal.

Phonebook Eater I can't believe how much it took for me to really appreciate this album. For me this must have been one of the most hard listenings ever. "Unquestionable Presence" is the second album of Tech Death Metal masters Atheist,from Florida, and it is with this record that the band goes down in metal history.

After "Piece of Time", the band's ambitions for the next album were much higher. To the usual death metal elements, Atheist put in their music jazzier moods and harmonies as well as Latin music based rhythms; "Unquestionable Presence" seemed to reach the pinnacle of death metal, and it never had so many influences before. In fact, UP was released in 1991, a few years after the official birth of the genre. What strikes the most about this album is the almost total lack of melody in all eight songs; all of these, despite being short tracks, have an impressive amount of time changes,which can make the listener completely confused even if he gets for distracted for one second.Despite it being pretty ambitious, it still maintains a typically death metal sound; violent and at times thrashy guitars, the growl vocals (even though singer Kelly Shaefer uses exclusively high pitched growls, comparable to Death singer Chuck Schuldiner), the fast tempos, the pounding bass and drums.

Then again, these elements are brought up to a whole new level thanks to the excellent musicianship from all members:the already mentioned singer Kelly Shaefer is very original in playing his part, Randy Burkey fills everything Kelly does, Tony Choy proves with all the bass solos through the album that he is one of the best bassists of the genre, and Steve Flynn has some amazing fills and rhythms that totally win my respect. The production of the album is quite impressive, compared to the kind of lo-fi sounding productions in the metal scene, especially thrash metal, that was around in that period.

"Mother Man" is the opening track, quite possibly the band's most famous song and their most beloved. A death metal classic; but we have also other songs that are perfectly able to e compared to the opener, like the title track, with it's mysterious intro and amazing riff, or "Enthralled In Essence" with it's odd time tempos and constant changes, "An Incarnation's Dream", containing the best intro for a song in the entire album, "The Formative Years" with it's wild drums, and the final "And The Physic Saw", another classic of the band.

Despite being only 32 minutes, "Unquestionable Presence" is an absolutely radical landmark album of Death Metal. If you want to start listening to tech death metal (I find it hard to believe that you're already into it but you haven't heard this album at least once), this is one of the starting points, no doubt in that.

The Angry Scotsman Another wonderful experience brought to us by Atheist. This album is a more progressive and jazzy then "Piece of Time" but it is still firmly rooted in death metal. While this album is very technical in its riffs, (and drumming) has time signatures all over the place, a very stop and go feel, slower tempo sections and jazz fusion guitar solos, "Unquestionable Presence" is still very metal.

The problem with most death metal bands are the vocals, but I actually like Kelly's! They are atypical for most metal. I love the way he sounds and think his vocals go along with the music well. However, the production quality on this album is not the best. While, this gives it a kind of gritty feel, it makes hearing him, and the music, difficult. Besides singing he also lays down some nice rhythm guitar.

Rand Burkey plays some great guitar on this album. The riffs are really indescribable, you have to hear them for yourself. He plays some wicked solo's but they are mainly along the lines of typical metal solo's. Tony Choy puts on quite a performance on bass, (though most of the bass music was written by now deceased Roger Patterson). The drumming is technical and jazzy. It is very fill heavy and just sounds like madness. However, as fans of prog and jazz we know better. It is not random, but actually organized chaos!

Mother Man: This song has a short little guitar intro and bass breakdown before going into the technical riff, and jazzy metal drumming. Kelly has some intense vocals on this song, be warned. From 1:30 to 2:30 is a progression of technical metal riffs, melodic jazzy solos, and shred solos. The main song then picks up, although even this is unique. The riffs change constantly and solos randomly fill the music, a long with musical interludes with bird chirping.

Unquestionable Presence: One of the best intros on the album. While the "sound" of the album is here I think this may be the most straightforward metal song.

Your Lifes Retribution: A small stop and go, back and forth guitar intro then quick bass breakdown start the song before plunging into the fast riff. I LOVE the quick riff at :49, as well as the one at 1:36. The middle of the song is filled with solos, and the ending is intense. Some good bass on this song as well.

Enthralled in Essence: Has a slow, heavy beginning, followed by a quick solo. This is a medium paced song overall. Riffs have a great feel through the song.

An Incarnations Dream: The first minute is slow and melodic, with clean guitar work and solos. Really nice sound, then the intensity hits you like a wall, (well you have 1 second to brace yourself). A slower, heavy song for the first half, the last minute is quite technical and intense.

The Formative years: One of the slower songs on the album, its quite heavy and crushing most of the way through. There are some thrash parts. You can hear some of the best drumming on this song, and Choy plays some nice bass.

Brains: One of the standouts. Sweet intro right out of the gate, followed by some death metal riffs. At 2:00 the best part of the song starts. There is some really technical drumming over the last half.

And the Psychic Saw: My favorite song of the album. An intense thrash intro followed by an amazing guitar riff, soon being played by both. It continues as the bass and drums are added before going into a small, small solo and then the main song. Very thrashy but with several tempo and style changes throughout.

Overall, one hell of an album. A must for any metal fan/heavy prog metal fans. While a great album it can be a bit predictable. Even though each song is different and pretty wild, there is a more or less similar pattern followed. Quality is a bit poor. These are only minor problems though. Excellent album.

Four Stars

Time Signature Brains...

Genre: progressive death/thrash metal, or "jazz metal" if you wish

If you are a newcomer to thrash or death metal, then "Unquestionable Presence" is not an easy listen. If you're a newcomer to jazz fusion on top of that, then "Unquestionable Presence" is a difficult listen. If you do not appreciate those genres, then "Unquestionable Presence" will either make you scratch your head wondering what's going on or it will make you judge it as weird and non-music.

Yes, "Unquestionable Presence" can be a challenging listen, and that's exactly what makes it such a great record. There's food for thought here. There are plenty of twists and turns; one moment it sounds like jazz with distorted guitars and the next moment you have a thrash metal riff ripping your ears apart. "unquestionable Presence" is a truly unique album, and it cannot really be described through verbal communication - it has to be experienced.

The blend of meavy metal and the jazzy drive on this album which sometimes makes it sound like an evil "20th Century Schizoid Man".

I think that fans of prog rock and prog metal, and even jazz fusion, might like this album, and I also think that those who enjoy present-day progressive/technical death metal might like it, since it was one of the releases that started that entire genre.

Sleepwalker Atheist is an unique band, blending elements of jazz and death metal into one. Their second album, Unquestionable Presence, if often seen as their masterpiece. I’m not sure where those thoughts come from though, as I don’t hear much more than a good album in it.

Don’t get me wrong here. Unquestionable Presence is a very innovative and interesting album, featuring some great pieces of music. The album opener, “Mother Man”, for example is one of those tracks. A lovely rythm section underneath a layer of crunchy guitars and Kelly Shaefer’s aggresive vocal style. Another great song is the aggresive “Enthralled In Essence”, being a very heavy and complicated piece of music. Also very notable is “An Incarnation’s Dream”. The song opens with a wonderful gentle intro, before exploding into a heavy beast. I find these the best tracks on the album, and though there are no really bad tracks on the album I think the other’s are much less interesting.

So though the album has no music on it that I dislike, I feel that the album has too few moments that are more than just good. Therefore I rate the album three stars, though I think that the combination of melodic jazz and crushing metal could have been a far more successful one.