The much-awaited new Atheist album received mixed reviews on release, as any comeback album inevitably will, but to me, it's nearly as good as the classic 'Unquestionable Presence'. It still has awful lyrics ('Faux King Christ' is a word play that could be expected of an 11 year old), but the music is spectacular.
Well, didn't this one piss off the metal purists. I'm guessing, of course - I wasn't born back then, but I can easily imagine many being annoyed by heavy influence from outside genres, and little death metal influence. It's not Atheist's best, but it's a good album.
Atheist's 'Unquestionable Presence' was a landmark in metal, death metal, and just extreme music generally. It, along with Nocturnus' 'The Key', essentially defined the progressive death genre that was to come into vogue in the late 90s, yet doesn't suffer from 'Opeth syndrome' - that is, long meandering songs that ultimately go nowhere. Straight to the point.
The first Atheist album is a joy to behold. Despite not featuring the jazzy elements to the same extent that they were found on 'Unquestionable Presence' and indeed 'Elements', this is still a classic early piece of progressive death metal.
