Death Metal
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no country for old wainds
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The Ozzman
Melted by feels
Yeah, I'll agree with this as well. There are some cool parts on the disc, but nothing stands out as being 'amazing' or 'breathtaking'
Blind Guardian
Member
I've personally always liked Theory In Practice more, they're like a natural extension of Atheist. What I appreciate about Atheist is the way they sometimes grab hold of melodies in the periphery when writing, very unorthodox melodies. Theory In Practice does that even better imo.
skeptik
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no country for old wainds
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well, it is actually quite amazing that they've made something so technical feel so fluid and organic. it just doesn't get me in the gut though, i feel like i'm admiring from afar. if every band had a tenth of that band's invention and originality then metaldom would be a better place, that i will say.
Unquestionble Presence is one of those albums that I love but can't exactly explain why. I typically hate falling back on the "it's structurally fucking awesome" idea but it's completely applicable in this case. It's got everything I like about the smooth yet spontaneous nature of a lot of jazz/fusion that I feel is worked into a death metal framework perfectly. It's the perfect example of how to experiment properly in metal.
no country for old wainds
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yeah, i similarly have no real explanation for not loving it. i suppose, if you want to look at it this way, near-perfect clarity of expression still isn't enough if the content isn't meaningful to me. i'll keep on trying to feel it though, i've only prob listened to it 15 or 20 times max and albums like that warrant loads of chances.
Blind Guardian
Member
I agree. The thing that gets it away from being a top DM album for me though, is that it lacks the mean spirit of other experimental albums like Beyond Sanctorum or Nespithe, where the actual unorthodox-ness is what makes them sound evil. UP is more of a straight mind bender, it's not really negative or positive sounding. But that's from a DM point of view of course, what you expect and so on.
no country for old wainds
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i wouldn't describe any of these bands as being 'positive' or 'negative', that seems a bit reductive to me. but i guess the fact that atheist don't seem to have an emotional entry point for me kind of falls in line with what you're saying.
Manic Ferocity
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While I do agree with everything that's been said about Unquestionable Presence, I still hold it in high regard but for other reasons.
General Zaroff
Registered Lunatic
You may or may not like it. On one hand, it's kind of hard to get into. On the other, the bass guitar really stands out.
The Ozzman
Melted by feels
AchrisK
Weakling
I really wanted to like Atheist. I could hear that they were doing some cool stuff, but it was not breaching the hull of my soul. But at some point, with enough listens, it really broke through for me. I think it was Piece of Time first, then Unquestionable Presence. With Piece of Time I think I must have listened to it 5-10 time in a row before it really started making sense, and it only got better from there.
With Elements, the production held me back from really connecting with it. I really still haven't.
Krow
Garbage Connoisseur
Never really that big of an Atheist fan... but I've never really liked technical death metal... or their vocalist, particularly. UP is okay... but the rest of their stuff I dont really care for at all.
AchrisK
Weakling
Zephyrus
Tyrants and Slaves
V.V.V.V.V.
Houses Ov Mercury
Most people who have a negative opinion on it cite it being more "Necrophagist-esque" with more 'needless' technicality and video-game-sounding leads. Only a couple songs could really be fairly panned this way. It still sounds like Gorod and you'll realize it immediately. It has the same playful songwriting, the same use of excellent melodies to develop themes, and even a bit of progression ("The Path" is their "prog"iest song yet).
AchrisK
Weakling
Bitencourt29
Member
In this case, you should enjoy Elements. It's a good album, pretty jazzy and crazy.
Agree with others about Unquestionable Presence, it's their best one. But it's not just good or fun, it's a great album.
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