FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…
On November 8, 2010, Atheist released their fourth full-length studio album Jupiter via Season of Mist.
It is their first studio album in 17 years since the release of Elements in 1993.
Background:
After the release of Elements, Atheist disbanded in 1994. On October 5, 2005, Atheist vocalist Kelly Shaefer announced that the band would possibly reform to play live shows sometime in the following year. In January 2006 the band reformed with Shaefer on vocals, Rand Burkey on guitar, Tony Choy on bass, and Steve Flynn on drums and announced festival appearances.
On July 12, 2008, Shaefer announced that he and drummer Steve Flynn would be meeting up to write music together for the first time since Unquestionable Presence in 1991. On March 6, 2009, Atheist announced that they had signed with the Independent record label, Season of Mist and on July 5, 2010, they finally entered the studio to begin recording a new album.
On July 11, 2010, Atheist revealed that the new album will be named Jupiter and that it is scheduled for a November release. In August 2010, the band revealed the track listing for the album and announced that bassist Tony Choy parted ways with the band. A replacement bassist wasn't brought in, as guitarist Jonathan Thompson also recorded the bass tracks for the new album.
In an interview with Lambgoat, Kelly Shaefer spoke about their first new material in 17 years, and how it all came to be;
“We started with the intentions of just doing some shows, but we had no idea that the reception would be so overwhelming. We had a great time, but were always cautious about the idea of sort of soiling our legacy as a band by doing a new record after such a significant amount of time away.”
In the same interview, he also talked about Jupiter’s sound in comparison to Elements and their earlier offerings;
“…we don't do anything with a preconceived notion, but the reason Elements had that sound was due to Tony Choy's input to the rhythm section of that album. The last album I did with my co- founding Drummer Steve Flynn was Unquestionable Presence, so for me this is a continuation of the spirit of the technicality as well as the brutality that we all loved so much back when we started. We have always loved complicated brutality, and riffs that make our hair stand up, that's what we look for in a riff.”
On hiring Jason Suecof to mix the album, Shaefer stated;
“He was a fan of Atheist since he was 12 years old, and he had studied our sound to the point where we left him alone to mix the record, that's the first time we took our hand off the wheel, and we knew it would be OK. He has an ear for tones that [are] hard to find in metal, and he just knew that Jupiter needed to rip faces off, and the guitar sound was key in that I think, along with the clarity of all of the intricate drumming. Those were focal points in what we wanted to be different about our past productions. The bass on Elements for instance is SO loud that certain parts of the guitar sections do not pack the same punch as they would have if they had been mixed differently.”
Critical Reception:
Jupiter has received generally favorable reviews. Skullsnbones.com stated;
"Does Jupiter live up to its predecessors? The short answer is sadly no."
However, the review later states;
"I want to make it very clear that this is not a bad album, just not what Atheist fans had been hoping for."
Similarly, a review from allmusic.com stated;
This album isn't a failure by any means, but it's not going to make old-school Atheist fans very happy, either."
Tyler Munro of Sputnikmusic said;
"In the end, Jupiter hits more marks than it misses, and no matter how you look at it, it's hard to argue with a new Atheist album. Especially one that sounds as natural as Jupiter."
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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