Atheist "Jupiter (Digipak, France, Season Of Mist, SOM 208D)"

Jupiter is the fourth studio album by the American technical death metal band Atheist. It is their first studio album in 17 years since the release of Elements in 1993.

After the release of Elements, Atheist disbanded in 1994. On October 5, 2005, Atheist vocalist Kelly Shaefer announced that the band would possibly reform to play live shows sometime in the following year. In January 2006 the band reformed with Shaefer on vocals, Rand Burkey on guitar, Tony Choy on bass, and Steve Flynn on drums and announced festival appearances.

On July 12, 2008, Shaefer announced that he and drummer Steve Flynn would be meeting up to write music together for the first time since Unquestionable Presence in 1991. On March 6, 2009, Atheist announced that they had signed with the Independent record label, Season of Mist and on July 5, 2010, they finally entered the studio to begin recording a new album.

On July 11, 2010, Atheist revealed that the new album will be named "Jupiter" and that it is scheduled for a November release. In August 2010, the band revealed the track listing for the album and announced that bassist Tony Choy parted ways with the band. A replacement bassist hasn't been brought in, as guitarist Jonathan Thompson also recorded the bass tracks for the new album.

Jupiter has received generally favourable reviews. Skullsnbones.com states, "Does Jupiter live up to its predecessors? The short answer is sadly no." However, the review later states, "I want to make it very clear that this is not a bad album, just not what Atheist fans had been hoping for." Similarly, a review from allmusic.com states that "This album isn't a failure by any means, but it's not going to make old-school Atheist fans very happy, either." Tyler Munro of Sputnikmusic said that "In the end, Jupiter hits more marks than it misses, and no matter how you look at it, it's hard to argue with a new Atheist album. Especially one that sounds as natural as Jupiter."

Tracklist:

1. Second to Sun 04:02   
2. Fictitious Glide 04:51
3. Fraudulent Cloth 03:21   
4. Live and Live Again 03:37
5. Faux King Christ 03:59
6. Tortoise the Titan 03:37
7. When the Beast 04:55
8. Third Person 04:07   

Time:  32:29  

Recording information:

Recorded at Ledbelly Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mixed at Audio Hammer Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Mastered at West West Side Music / Deko Entertainment GRP.

Atheist "Elements (Remastered 2005, USA, Relapse Records, RR 6672-2)"

Elements is the third studio album released by American technical death metal band Atheist. It was released on August 30, 1993 by Music for Nations in Europe and by Metal Blade Records in the US. Elements was reissued by Relapse Records in 2005 and was digitally remastered with the addition of six bonus tracks.

Eduardo Rivadavia described the album for Allmusic as remaining "admirably true to the band's famously complicated arrangements, syncopated rhythms, and ultra-precise attack, but also boast[ing] a cleaner musicality never before attempted by the group". Elements was written, recorded and mixed in forty days in Pro Media Studios. The band wanted to dissolve but they were required to finish their third album in order to fulfill a contract to their record label. Elements features the addition of a third guitarist, Frank Emmi. Initially, Rand Burkey was not going to appear on the album, and as Kelly Shaefer had developed carpal tunnel syndrome, (preventing him from playing anything but rhythm guitar) a new lead guitar player was needed. Before recording, Burkey rejoined the band, and thus the band ended up with three guitarists. Shaefer plays rhythm guitar, while Emmi and Burkey share responsibilities for leads and solos.

Elements was Atheist's last studio album for 17 years, until the 2010 release of Jupiter.

Elements was described by James Hinchcliffe in Terrorizer as "less frantic and jazz-leaning than Unquestionable Presence, and packed with unexpectedly Latin rhythms" that caused the album to "hurtle...to the edge of metal". Eduardo Rivadavia praised the band for "delivering another highly accomplished set that illustrated both a natural evolution of their sound and served as a worthy final chapter to their all-too-brief and very troubled trajectory".

In 2005, Relapse Records re-released Elements. This edition was digitally remastered, and features six bonus tracks.

Tracklist:

1. Green 03:22   
2. Water 04:29
3. Samba Briza 01:58
4. Air 05:35   
5. Displacement 01:25  
6. Animal 04:11
7. Mineral 04:34
8. Fire 04:37   
9. Fractal Point 00:44
10. Earth 03:53  
11. See You Again 01:18
12. Elements 05:35  
13. Unquestionable Presence 04:02  
14. On They Slay 03:47  
15. Enthralled in Essence 04:31  
16. The Formative Years 03:38  
17. Mother Man 04:32  
18. Retribution 03:11  

Time:  01:05:22  

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Pro Media Studios in Gainesville, Florida, May 1993.

Remastered at The Pain Cave.

Tracks 13-18 are from "Live BBC Radio Broadcast 1992".

Atheist "Unquestionable Presence (USA, Death Records, 9 26717-2)"

Unquestionable Presence is the second album by the 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.

It is considered a landmark album in the genre of technical death metal.

Bassist Roger Patterson wrote the bass lines for Unquestionable Presence, but died in a touring van accident before the recording sessions took place. His work, however, can be heard on the pre-production demos included with the 2005 re-release. Tony Choy was brought in as a replacement to play bass on the album.

James Hinchcliffe described the album in Terrorizer as "the very pinnacle of scorching yet brain-twisting technical metal". Phil Freeman in The Wire (issue 261, p.53) described Unquestionable Presence as a "more complex and progressive album, every song rocketing through multiple tricky time signatures and endless variations on already baffling riffs." In October 2005, Unquestionable Presence was inducted into the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame being the ninth album overall to be featured in the Decibel Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Relapse Records re-released Unquestionable Presence. This edition has been digitally remastered, and features nine bonus tracks.

Tracklist:

1. Mother Man 04:34
2. Unquestionable Presence 04:07
3. Your Life's Retribution 03:17   
4. Enthralled in Essence 03:38  
5. An Incarnation's Dream 04:53
6. The Formative Years 03:30
7. Brains 03:41  
8. And the Psychic Saw 04:45   

Time:   32:25  

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed in 1991 at Morrisound in Tampa, Florida.

Mastered at Fullersound in Miami, Florida.

Atheist "Piece Of Time (Remastered 2005, USA, Relapse Records, RR 6673-2)"

Piece of Time is the debut album by the technical death metal band Atheist, released in 1989 in Europe. However, it was not released in the United States until 1990. This was because the label that Atheist had initially signed with, Mean Machine Records, was going bankrupt, and the band had to search for another label. They eventually signed with UK label Active Records, who released their album in Europe soon after. The album was not released in the US for another six months, until Metal Blade Records finally arranged a licensing deal with Active Records and released it to the American market in November 1990. Piece of Time is the only Atheist album to feature bassist Roger Patterson, although he wrote much of the bass on Unquestionable Presence.

Although "Piece of Time" was recorded and completed in 1988, it faced multiple delays until its release in 1990, due to label politics. The album was planned for release in 1989, but the label that Atheist was initially signed to at the time (Mean Machine Records) went bankrupt, so the band had to search for another label, until Active Records signed them and released "Piece of Time" in early 1990. However, it took six months for the album to be released in the United States, when Metal Blade Records finally arranged a licensing deal with Active and released it in the United States in November 1990, roughly two years after the album's completion.

In 2005, Piece of Time was ranked number 402 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. It was described by James Hinchcliffe in Terrorizer as the band's "least technically accomplished release and their most lyrically immature, [yet] it remains an exceptional work of late 80s deaththrash, crackling with an uncommon energy and creativity".

In 2002, EMG Entertainment re-released Piece of Time. Originally, EMG Entertainment was supposed to reissue all three Atheist albums, but Kelly Shaefer aborted those plans after only Piece of Time had been reissued. This release has been digitally remastered, and features six bonus tracks.

In 2005, Relapse Records re-released Piece of Time, this time along with the rest of Atheist's catalogue. This release was also digitally remastered, and features nine bonus tracks.

Tracklist:

1. Piece of Time 04:32
2. Unholy War 02:18   
3. Room with a View 04:05   
4. On They Slay 03:37
5. Beyond 02:59   
6. I Deny 03:59
7. Why Bother? 02:55  
8. Life 03:11  
9. No Truth 04:36   
10. No Truth 04:00
11. On They Slay 03:52
12. Choose Your Death 03:19  
13. Brain Damage 04:42  
14. Beyond 03:15
15. Hell Hath No Mercy 03:04  
16. On They Slay 04:04   
17. Brain Damage 04:48  
18. Undefiled Wisdom 04:27  

Time:  01:07:43  

Released as part of Relapse Records' Cult Classic series.

Tracks 10-14 "Beyond" demo.

Track 15 "Hell Hath No Mercy" demo.

Tracks 16-18 R.A.V.A.G.E. "On We Slay" demo.

Recording information:

Tracks 1-9 recorded and mixed at Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida, November-December 1988.

Remastered at the Pain Cave.

Mastered at Fullersound in Miami, Florida.