atheist

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Dictionary: a·the·ist (ā'thē-ĭst) pronunciation

n.
One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

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Artist: Atheist

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Group Members:

Kelly Shaefer, Steve Flynn, Marcel Dissantos, Randy Burkey, Mark Sczawtsberg, Roger Patterson, Frank Emmi, Tony Choy, Scott Burns

Similar Artists:

Cynic, Meshuggah, Deicide, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Sisthema, Sentenced, Gorefest, Fleshcrawl, At the Gates, Mekong Delta, Watchtower, Pestilence, Crowbar, Broken Hope, Biohazard, Believer, Voivod, Rigor Mortis, Cannibal Corpse, Candlemass, Atrophy, Anacrusis

Influenced By:

Death

Followers:

Aletheian, Pitbulls in the Nursery, Coprofago, Aydra, Darkane

Performed Songs By:

Kelly Shaefer, Frank Emmi, Tony Choy, Randy Burkey

Formal Connection With:

Neurotica

See Atheist Lyrics

Formed: 1984
Disbanded: 1993
Genres: Rock
Representative Albums: "Unquestionable Presence," "Elements," "Piece of Time"

Biography

Arguably the ultimate progressive metal band of their day, Atheist's impossibly Byzantine death-jazz proved too advanced even for committed metalheads to stomach. Over the span of three albums admirably recorded in spite of crippling adversity, the band's inventive but inaccessible style has earned them a lasting respect, but likewise compromised their chances of attaining widespread success.

Atheist started out as typical '80s thrash metal band. Founded in 1984 by vocalist and guitarist Kelly Shaefer and drummer Steve Flynn under the name of Oblivion and then R.A.V.A.G.E (Raging Atheists Vowing A Gory End), their shuffling lineup only stabilized years later with the arrival of bassist Roger Patterson and guitarist Mark Sczawtsberg. Settling on the name Atheist, the band suddenly began evolving at a fast clip, their gradual path towards an extremely complex brand of death metal documented in a series of compilations and demo tapes along the way. With the arrival of guitarist Randy Burkey in 1988, Atheist secured a deal with Mean Machine Records and issued their first album Piece of Time the following year (when the label went bankrupt, the album was picked up by Active Records). An amazingly dense and challenging record, it's head-spinning arrangements and dissonant riffing stumped most casual listeners but wowed critics with the sheer audacity of the band's death-jazz. Tours of Europe, Canada, and the United States would follow, and Atheist had already begun work on a follow-up when tragedy struck. Returning home from a road jaunt supporting Swedish doomsters Candlemass in February 1991, their van suffered a horrific crash, Patterson dying in Shaefer's arms by the roadside. The trauma was almost too much for Atheist to overcome but they eventually decided to carry on, and with session work by Cynic bassist Tony Choy, the Unquestionable Presence LP was released later that year. Possibly their finest hour, it not only served as a tribute to Patterson, but also managed to perfect the debut's seething intensity into an even sharper focus. Darren McFarland became their new touring bassist, but following just a few local dates, Shaefer decided to focus on his more rock-oriented side project Neurotica. But Atheist still owed Active Records one more album, so Shaefer, Burkey, and a returning Choy joined with guitarist Frank Emmi and drummer Marcel Dissantos to record 1993's Elements. Rising to the challenge, Shaefer and company bolstered the use of melody and experimented with a wide array of different musical styles, resulting in a remarkably strong effort considering the band's hand had been forced in the first place. Then, their responsibilities fulfilled, Atheist finally disbanded and Shaefer resumed his work with Neurotica, although 21st century re-formation rumors have surfaced on occasion. ~ Mike DaRonco & Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide

Antonyms: atheist

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Definition: non-believer
Antonyms: believer

Word Tutor: atheist

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IN BRIEF: Someone who denies the existence of a god.

The atheist never goes to church.

Wikipedia: Atheist (band)

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Atheist
Live at Hole In The Sky, Bergen Metal Fest 2006
Background information
Origin	Sarasota, Florida, United States
Genres	Technical death metal, progressive metal^[1], jazz fusion
Years active	1984–1992, 1993–1994, 2006–present
Labels	Relapse
Associated acts	Neurotica, Gnostic, Cynic, Pestilence
Website	www.officialatheist.com
Members
Kelly Shaefer Tony Choy Steve Flynn Sonny Carson Chris Baker
Former members
Rand Burkey Roger Patterson Frank Emmi Darren McFarland Kyle Sokol Josh Greenbaum Mike Callahan Lee Harrison Mark Sczawtsberg Steve Freid

Atheist is a technical death metal band from Florida, founded in 1984, whose music combined metal riffs with subtle latin music arrangements and elements of jazz. Their second album, Unquestionable Presence, released in 1991, has been regarded by some critics^[who?] as one of the most influential technical death metal albums of all time.

1 History
2 Discography
3 Band members
- 3.1 Current members
- 3.2 Former members
4 References
5 External links

History

The band was founded in 1984 in Florida, USA, firstly under the name Oblivion^[2] and later R.A.V.A.G.E. (which stands for Raging Atheists Vowing A Gory End).^[2] They recorded their debut album, Piece of Time, in 1988, which was released in Europe in 1989, but not in the United States until 1990. In 1991, bassist Roger Patterson perished in a car accident and Atheist recruited Tony Choy to record their second album, the now classic Unquestionable Presence. Atheist disbanded for the first time in 1992, reuniting in 1993 and recording their last album Elements, fulfilling their contractual requirements, before disbanding for the second time.

Seven years after their second break up, Kelly Shaefer decided that it was about time for the world to hear again of Atheist so the three albums were re-released with different bonus tracks and were completely remastered.

Shaefer played with Neurotica until 2002, whereas Tony Choy played in a number of other bands, including Pestilence and Cynic. In 2001, Kelly Shaefer tried to regroup the band with all the original members with the addition of the acclaimed Kyle Sokol from the Tampa Bay area on bass guitar, replacing Tony Choy due to Choy's other band commitments according to a metal magazine interview. The band reunion at this time never came to fruition due to Neurotica going on OzzFest.

Relapse Records re-issued the band's three albums in late 2005, as well as a vinyl box set containing the three albums plus the R.A.V.A.G.E. demo On They Slay. Former drummer Steve Flynn has recently re-emerged in a new band called Gnostic.

In January, 2006, Atheist announced they were regrouping to perform live during the summer and autumn of that year. The line-up was Shaefer, Burkey, Choy and Flynn. Shaefer only provided vocals due to long battles with tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome^[3]. Gnostic guitarist Sonny Carson handled all of Shaefer's guitar parts. Recently Chris Baker of Gnostic has been replacing Burkey because of legal troubles.

On July 12, 2008, Shaefer issued the following update: "[I'm] heading to Atlanta next Friday to jam with ATHEIST drummer and my best friend Mr. Steve Flynn, this will mark the first time we have written together since 1991's 'Unquestionable Presence'. So I am curious how it will sound. I know it will be sick, there is a formula that me and Flynn have that automatically sounds like ATHEIST...so it will be fun to hear what it will sound like. And who knows? If it it goes well...?? We will see what happens."^[4]

On July 26, 2008, Kelly Shaefer announced through the Atheist myspace page the recording of a new studio album, which will be their first in 17 years. They also will go on a tour in Europe and the USA in 2009 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of their album Piece of Time. A live DVD will also be released from the tour.^[5]

Discography

Studio albums

Piece of Time (1989 in Europe; 1990 in the United States)
Unquestionable Presence (1991)
Elements (1993)
TBA (to be released in 2010)

Live albums

Unquestionable Presence: Live At Wacken (2009)

Demos

As R.A.V.A.G.E.

Rotting in Hell (1985)
On They Slay (1987)
Hell Hath No Mercy (1987)

As Atheist

Beyond (1988)

Band members

Current members

Kelly Shaefer – vocals, guitar (1984-1994, 2006-present)
Chris Baker – guitar (2006-present)
Jonathan Thompson (2009-present)
Steve Flynn – drums (1984-1991, 2006-present)
Tony Choy – bass (1991, 1993-1994, 2006-present)

Former members

Rand Burkey - guitar (1988-1992, 1993-1994)
Roger Patterson – bass (1985-1991)
Mike Callahan - guitar (1991)
Frank Emmi – guitar (1993)
Sonny Carson – guitar (2006-200?)
Mickey Hayes – drums (1993)
Josh Greenbaum – drums (1993)
Kyle Sokol – bass (2001)

References

^ Mike DaRonco, Ed Rivadavia. "Allmusic - Biography - Atheist". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
^ ^a ^b "Atheist --- Official Relapse Records Band Page". http://shop.relapse.com/artist/artist.aspx?ArtistID=10143. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
^ "ATHEIST Regroup, Announce Exclusive ON FUCK YOU LIVE TV Festival Appearances". Blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=46783. Retrieved 2006-01-13.
^ "ATHEIST Members Collaborating On First New Material Since 1991". Blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=100804. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
^ Atheist - Writing New Material: News @ metalstorm.ee

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atheist

Official website
Atheist at MySpace

v • d • e Atheist

Kelly Shaefer · Steve Flynn · Tony Choy · Chris Baker · Sonny Carson Jason West · Rand Burkey · Roger Patterson · Frank Emmi · Mickey Hayes · Josh Greenbaum · Marcel Dissantos · Darren McFarlan · Kyle Sokol · Shannon Lorelei

Studio albums	Piece of Time · Unquestionable Presence · Elements

Demos	Rotting in Hell · On They Slay · Hell Hath No Mercy · Beyond

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