Atheist ‎"Unquestionable Presence" CD

"Unquestionable Presence" is the second album by the death metal band Atheist. It was released in August 30, 1991 through Death Records (division of Metal Blade Records).

The period accompanying "Piece Of Time" was quite varied for Atheist. First, problems with its release (which was caused by Active Records), then a very good reception of the disc, a series of concerts, tours, etc., quickly composing material for the next album, and then...Roger Patterson died in a car accident. Obviously, it was a huge loss for the band, and I don't think I need to remind you of this musician's talent, but Atheist decided to continue working on next record. Another bass master, Tony Choy, joined to the line-up, and it was with him that another work was completed - "Unquestionable Presence" precisely.
Musically, it's a really interesting topic. In two years, the band has made tremendous progress and has shown that what was previously perfect...can actually be improved even further. The production is different (and even better, although Scott Burns and his Morrisound are still responsible for it), thrash speeds got rid of (which makes the whole "Unquestionable..." feel a bit slower), Scheafer's vocals became much more more deathy, and the songs themselves have even more interesting than before! So, death-jazz performed by Atheist became much more twisted, (at the beginning) even more difficult to listen to and thus much less obvious. It means that the number of squiggles per song has increased several times, and a bit of inattention on the part of the listener may result in misunderstanding the album even more than on the debut. On the other side, on "Unquestionable Presence" there is no question of pointless technique. The Americans from Atheist knew their capabilities so much that they knew how to weave into it simpler and closer to classical playing patents.
There is a lot going on, I have already mentioned it. The best thing is that when you listen to such "Brains", "An Incarnation's Dream", "Mother Man" or "The Formative Years" (actually any track from the album), you do not feel any excess in them, all these the twigs come out of the band so naturally that they become the elements that give the album catchiness! I will repeat the same thing I mentioned in the "Piece Of Time" review. Despite the greater use of technique (even more here), Kelly Scheafer and the rest of the band knew how to turn progressive and technical wonders into death metal sounds, so as not to lose the sense. For the second time in a row, they managed to create a very advanced and demanding album, but at the same time one that is great to listen to. And that's what this technical music is all about.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...