ATHEIST — Piece of Time (review)

Album · 1989 · Technical Death Metal

5/5 · 2017-05-13
aglasshouse

Musical intuition and technical prowess catapulted Florida's Atheist into cult status shortly before the 1980's, a decade which was perhaps the most prolific for housing the best metal bands of all time, came to an end. It's not hard to see how Atheist achieved a following so quickly, as the band's influence from both thrash metal and elaborate jazz fusion were quick to differentiate them from their peers.

However with a band with such high quality there comes heavy scrutiny. It's, for the most part, a consensus that out of Atheist's current four releases not a single "failure" exists, but a general hierarchy is constructed for the lot nonetheless. Of this totem, Atheist's 1989 debut is generally thought of as being at the bottom. Not only was Piece of Time a preceding to the band's often-thought-of masterpiece Unquestionable Presence in 1991, but it's often cast aside as the least creative and most sophomoric of Atheist's discography.

I guess I feel that, with this particular album, something should be understood- factoring in more complexity does not always equal a better output. What I believe to be the folly of many metal bands (and tech death bands especially) is their inability to put themselves within boundaries, directly distancing themselves so far from a familiar structure that they alienate themselves from the listener, and just become not fun to listen to. Some jazz fusion bands of the 70's experienced this, and sometimes Atheist does too. Just not on this record.

In a world where the barbarism of death metal and the maturity of jazz fusion is blurred, a world which Atheist creates, it is quite hard not to step over this line. The lack of this overstepping though is what makes Piece of Time the overall best album that they've recorded, or at least on par with following work. Anything but lowest on the totem.

Piece of Time is filled with elements of what Atheist would go on to do, albeit with a much more juvenile and rowdy attitude. Each element of Atheist's sound is a multi-layered shell, with each peeling away to reveal another hidden complexity. The fusion of influences the band takes in gives way to duplicitously intricate time signatures, aided by the zealous syncopation of Steve Flynn's constantly morphing drumming. The album can slip at the speed of light from a crunching thrash-gallop easily to a grueling groove (see 'Why Bother?), as the band seems to act as a singular metal entity that can shift and change it's direction at will...all without sacrificing individuality. I for one believe that is an inexorably great feat that not many other bands have managed to replicate. This is without mentioning the inclusion of the sheer speed of each member, especially the insane pluck-age of late bassist Roger Patterson (see 'Unholy War') and guitarist Rand Burkey (best when combined with frontman Kelly Shaefer's guitar), adhering particularly well to the album's overall quality. Some particularly good tracks on here include "Room With a View', 'On They Slay' and 'Why Bother?'- all of which are prime examples of the aforementioned attributes Piece of Time has.

A masterful debut from a masterful group.

more than 2 years ago
Permalink
Report #341536

Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer

Please login to post a shout

aglasshouse wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've watched/listened to a few interviews with Flynn and his explanations behind the percussion are fucking fantastic. It really goes to show how complex they are even if it was the product of improv.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Great album, and a great band. It would have been interesting to see what Roger Patterson would have come up with after this if he hadn't been killed. The band reckoned the jazz influence was almost accidental, and it was just Flynn and Patterson fucking about when they got bored which led to the incredible rhythms.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I love this one and love the Hellwitch too. All Atheist is good!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It´s a great album for sure, and a very groundbreaking one too. If you enjoy this one I can highly recommend that you check out "Syzygial Miscreancy" by Hellwitch, which has a similar sound.