Completing the holy (unholy?) trinity of jazz influenced death metal is this gem of an album which is probably my favourite metal album to date. The band strikes a perfect balance between balls out technical prowess, thoughtful melody and death metal aggression. All the tracks here are winners and I've gone through phases where I could have said any individual track on the album is my favourite. That should give you some indication of the depth and quality of the writing of late bassist Roger Patterson. And certainly the writing and composition is everything here, it's clear the band took the time to painstakingly write proper tech songs as opposed to slapping some riffs together, plopping a solo near the end and calling it a day. Instrumentally these guys are wizards too, Steve Flynn's furious jazz fusion drumming is of particular highlight with Tony Choy's slap bass is not far behind and the solos of Rand Burkey and Frontman Kelly Shaefer are the icing on the tasty cake.
The technicality here reaches the perfect balance where it will satisfy you if you have a short attention span but you can still follow and enjoy the song fully which is quite a feat and most of the sections are quite addictive to boot. And in my opinion the level of technicality plotted against the level of addictiveness usually gives an appropriately mathematical description for the quality. This one is an essential Tech-Death album.
Track Listings1. Mother Man (4:34)
2. Unquestionable Presence (4:07)
3. Your Life's Retribution (3:17)
4. Enthralled In Essence (3:38)
5. An Incarnation's Dream (4:53)
6. The Formative Years (3:30)
7. Brains (3:41)
8. And The Psychic Saw (4:45)
Total Time: 32:25
Download Here:
(Atheist - Unquestionable Presence, V0)
1 comment:
I haven't heard this in nearly 15 years. As technical as it is, it's amazing how many of these riffs have stuck with me through the years, including many that have popped into my head over and over again without me being able to place them- until now. The remaster sounds great, too. Thanks for posting this.
Post a Comment