Results for atheist
On this page:
 
Dictionary:

atheist

  (ā'thē-ĭst) pronunciation
n.

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


 
 
Artist: Atheist
Formed:
1984

Disbanded:
1993

Representative Songs:

"Enthralled in Essence," "Mother Man," "And the Psychic Saw"

Representative Albums:

Unquestionable Presence, Elements, Piece of Time

Similar Artists:

Influences:

Followers:

Performed Songs By:

Kelly Shaefer, Frank Emmi, Tony Choy, Randy Burkey
  • Genre: Rock
  • Active: '80s, '90s
  • Major Members: Kelly Shaefer, Steve Flynn, Marcel Dissantos, Randy Burkey

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

n

Definition: non-believer
Antonyms: believer


 
Word Tutor: atheist
pronunciation

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

pronunciation The atheist never goes to church.

 
Wikipedia: Atheist (band)
Image:Atheistlogo.jpg
Origin Flag of the United States Sarasota, Florida, USA
Genre(s) Technical death metal[1]
Progressive metal
Metal fusion
Years active 1984 - 1992, 1993
2006 - present
Label(s) Relapse Records
Associated
acts
Neurotica
Gnostic
Cynic
Pestilence
Website Official website
Members
Kelly Shaefer
Tony Choy
Steve Flynn
Sonny Carson
Chris Baker
Former members
Rand Burkey
Roger Patterson
Frank Emmi
Darren McFarland
Marcel DeSantos
Josh Greenbaum
Lee Harrison
Mark Sczawtsberg
Steve Freid
Gary
Mickey
Mark

Atheist are a Technical death metal band from Florida, USA, founded in 1984, whose music combined brutal riffs with subtle latin music arrangements and elements of jazz. Their second album, Unquestionable Presence, released in 1991 (see 1991 in music), has been regarded by some critics as one of the most influential technical death metal albums of all time[1].

Band 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 has decided that it was about time for the world to hear again of Atheist so the three albums are re-released with different bonus tracks and completely remastered.

Shaefer played with Neurotica until 2002, whereas Tony Choy played in a number of other bands, including Pestilence and Cynic.

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 fall 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.

Despite the reunion tour, there are no plans to record a fourth Atheist album.

Discography

Studio albums

Demos

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

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

As Atheist

Band line-up

Members

Former members

  • Sonny Carson - Guitar (Gnostic)
  • Chris Baker - Guitar (Gnostic, filling in for Burkey)
  • Steve Flynn - Drums (Gnostic)
  • Roger Patterson - Bass
  • Frank Emmi - Guitar
  • Mickey Hayes - Drums
  • Josh Greenbaum - Drums
  • Marcel Dissantos - Drums
  • Darren McFarland - Bass
  • Kyle Sokol - Bass
  • Shannon Lorelei - Bass

References

  1. ^ a b Gabriel Gose. THE METAL OBSERVER - Review - ATHEIST - Unquestionable Presence. The Metal Observer. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
  2. ^ a b Atheist --- Official Relapse Records Band Page. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
  3. ^ ATHEIST Regroup, Announce Exclusive ON FUCK YOU LIVE TV Festival Appearances. Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved on 2006-01-13.

External links



 
 

Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "atheist" at WikiAnswers.

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Artist. Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2008 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Atheist (band)" Read more

Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar!  
Click here to download now. 

Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.

On this page:   E-mail   print Print  Link  

 

Keep Reading

Mentioned In: