ATHEIST — Piece of Time (review)

ATHEIST — Piece of Time album cover Album · 1989 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Vim Fuego
Overshadowed by their more brutal peers, like Obituary, Death and Morbid Angel, Atheist were the most creative band to emerge from the alligator infested swamps of Florida in the Great Death Rush of '89. While they didn't have the grunt of the others, they had riffs that bordered on solos and one of the most twisted rhythm sections this side of the New Orleans jazz scene. Atheist were described more than once as "death jazz", which is a more than fair description - off beat, syncopated rhythms, unconventional time signatures, instruments often playing against each other. The only other band exploring similar ground in 1989 was Germany’s Atrocity, but while matching Atheist’s technicality, lacked the ear for a tune and knack of creating a groove from the chaotic. ‘Piece Of Time’ had the potential to fall flat on its face, but instead helped define a new sub-genre- technical Death Metal. The album is incredibly catchy and has an excellent clear production sound. Atheist's complex sound apparently arose from the rhythm section of drummer Steve Flynn and bassist the late Roger Patterson "getting bored". To alleviate the boredom, they messed about with unusual rhythm structures. Patterson’s bass pops and twists, while Flynn manages to combine syncopation and a driving groove with more traditional death metal drumming. Check out live favourite ‘On The Slay’ for Flynn’s most devastating performance on this album. The remarkable rhythm section was topped off by the double lead guitar attack of Kelly Shaefer and Rand Burkey, and Shaefer's raspy vocals. By not singing with a traditional death grunt, Shaefer was able to inject just a little melody, and it allowed space for a little vocal dexterity. Sadly for the band and death metal fans everywhere, Roger Patterson was killed when the band’s van crashed driving home from a tour supporting Candlemass in February 1991, before the stunning follow-up album ‘Unquestionable Presence’ was recorded. While ‘Unquestionable Presence’ is an undisputed death metal classic, all the elements which made it great were already present on ‘Piece of Time’. Atheist were well ahead of their time, and for that reason got left behind. Their ultra-technical Death Metal did not really catch on like the more brutal flavour, and the band drifted apart in mid-1992. However, a few short years down the track, the likes of Death, Pestilence, Cynic and Meshuggah were bored with straight brutality and picked up on Atheist-style technicality. Atheist were leaders, not followers.
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