Atheist are among one of the elite few that can call themselves progenitors of technical and progressive death metal, but they are quite elusive. Members come and go, leaving the legendary Florida outfit in various states of inactivity. In fact, there’s a good chance that of all the members in the above photo (taken in 2011) besides founding members Kelly Schaefer (vocals, right of center) and drummer Steve Flynn (drums, right) are no longer in the band.
Fortunately, frontman Kelly Schaefer refuses to let the band wither into nothing, and after a much too long wait since their comeback album Jupiter in 2010, Atheist are not only planning a new record, but have tapped producer Jason Suecof (Job For A Cowboy, The Contortionist).
Schaefer says:
“We will be working with Jason Suecof on this record, he has such a vast wealth of knowledge of our history as well as our sound, and we were lucky to be able to have him mix ‘Jupiter’, but this time he will be involved in the recording as well as the mix so that will be beastly!!”
Perhaps we can finally get a modern Atheist record that sounds amazing from a production standpoint. Of course, as Schaefer pointed out, Suecof mixed Jupiter, but the album still sounded a bit flimsy due in part to the lackluster instrument tones. Hopefully Suecof’s guiding hand in the studio as a producer and engineer can allow for a stellar sounding record.
Keep your eyes on 2015 for new music from Atheist.
– JR