Artist: Atheist
Released: 1991 RATING: 4.5/5
The Good: Atheist's 1990 debut Piece of Time was certainly great, but 1991's Unquestionable Presence was better. Here, Atheist build on their debut's technically challenging and elaborate formula, adding touches of melody here and there, and writing really memorable songs. Sure, the music can be a trip sometimes, with its varying time signatures and jazz-influenced rhythem parts, but the repeated listens required to really digest this album because of this make it even better. Listen to it a few times, and it will all click eventually. What makes it great is that the song lengths are never excessive, and so it never really gets too boring (or overwhelming) Atheist was a truly unique group, and Unquestionable Presence was their masterpiece, a progressive, creative juggernaut of an album that deserves much respect.
The Bad: In all honesty, Atheist's music can be rough on the ears due to the complexity of the music; upon the first listen, "What the hell did I just listen to?" is one of the more common thoughts to immediately cross one's mind. Still, it is an album like no other, for better or worse, and has stood the test of time as a landmark Death Metal work.
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