Unquestionable Presence

Unquestionable Presence
Studio album by Atheist
Released	August 30, 1991
Recorded	1991
Studio	Morrisound, Tampa, Florida
Genre	Technical death metal progressive metal jazz fusion
Length	32:25
Label	Active Records
Producer	Scott Burns
Atheist chronology
Piece of Time (1990) Unquestionable Presence (1991) Elements (1993)

Unquestionable Presence is the second studio album by American death metal band Atheist. It was released in 1991 and added a new sound by using jazz-like harmonies, subtle Latin rhythms and unusual time signatures.

Content

Unquestionable Presence is considered a landmark album in the genre of technical death metal.[1] Ultimate Guitar senior editor David Slavković states the album "dives deep into progressive metal waters", highlighting the album's stylistic diversity, and complex song structures and transitions.[2]

Bassist Roger Patterson wrote the bass lines for Unquestionable Presence, but died in a touring van accident before the recording sessions took place. His work, however, can be heard on the pre-production demos included with the 2005 re-release. Tony Choy was brought in as a replacement to play bass on the album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Terrorizer	9.5/10[4]

James Hinchcliffe described the album in Terrorizer as "the very pinnacle of scorching yet brain-twisting technical metal".[4] Phil Freeman in The Wire (issue 261, p. 53) described Unquestionable Presence as a "more complex and progressive album, every song rocketing through multiple tricky time signatures and endless variations on already baffling riffs."[5] In October 2005, Unquestionable Presence was inducted into the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame being the ninth album overall to be featured in the Decibel Hall of Fame.[6]

Track listing

All lyrics by Kelly Shaefer. All music composed by Atheist.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mother Man"	4:34
2.	"Unquestionable Presence"	4:07
3.	"Your Life's Retribution"	3:17
4.	"Enthralled in Essence"	3:38
5.	"An Incarnation's Dream"	4:53
6.	"The Formative Years"	3:30
7.	"Brains"	3:41
8.	"And the Psychic Saw"	4:45
Total length:		32:25

2005 re-release

In 2005, Relapse Records re-released Unquestionable Presence. This edition has been digitally remastered, and features nine bonus tracks.

No.	Title	Length
9.	"Enthralled in Essence" (Pre-production Demo 8/90)	3:32
10.	"The Formative Years" (Pre-production Demo 8/90)	3:29
11.	"Unquestionable Presence" (Pre-production Demo 8/90)	3:55
12.	"An Incarnation's Dream" (Pre-production Demo 8/90)	4:09
13.	"Retribution" (Pre-production Demo 8/90 (Instrumental)	3:19
14.	"Brains" (Pre-production Demo 8/90 (Instrumental)	3:40
15.	"Enthralled in Essence" (Demo 1990)	3:44
16.	"Mother Man" (Drums & Bass Tracks)	4:42
17.	"And the Psychic Saw" (Rhythm Tracks)	4:27
Total length:		68:32

Personnel

• Kelly Shaefer – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Rand Burkey – lead guitar
• Tony Choy – bass
• Steve Flynn – drums
• Roger Patterson – bass (on tracks 9–15 on 2005 re-release)
• Scott Burns – production
• Atheist – production
• Justice Mitchell – cover artwork

References

1. Badin, O. (December 2006). Terrorizer #151, "Death Metal: The DM Top 40", page 53.
2. "Friday Top: 25 Best Death Metal Albums of All Time". www.ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
3. Allmusic review
4. Hinchcliffe, James (November 2005). "Atheist: Piece of Time/Unquestionable Presence/Elements". Terrorizer (137): 72.
5. "Atheist - Unquestionable Presence CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2005-08-30. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
6. Chase, Jesse. "Atheist – "Unquestionable Presence"". Decibel. Retrieved 2018-05-11.