''Piece of Time'' is the debut album by American

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

band

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, recorded in 1988 but not released officially until 1990. This was because the label that Atheist had initially signed with, Mean Machine Records, was going bankrupt, and the band had to search for another label. They eventually signed with UK label

Active Records Active Records was a record sublabel of RCA Records founded in 1980. The label focused mainly on heavy metal music. The label was dissolved in 1994. Bands * Anacrusis * Atheist * Budgie * Candlemass * Merciless * Destiny * Therion See also ...

, who released their album in Europe soon after. The album was not released in the US for another six months, until

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

finally arranged a licensing deal with Active Records and released it to the American market in November 1990. ''Piece of Time'' is the only Atheist album to feature bassist Roger Patterson, although he wrote much of the bass on ''

Unquestionable Presence ''Unquestionable Presence'' is the second album by the 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 It is considered a landmark alb ...

''.

Reception

In 2005, ''Piece of Time'' was ranked number 402 in ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. It was described by James Hinchliffe in ''Terrorizer'' as the band's "least technically accomplished release and their most lyrically immature, etit remains an exceptional work of late 80s deaththrash, crackling with an uncommon energy and creativity".

Track listing

2002 Re-release

In 2002, EMG Entertainment re-released ''Piece of Time''. Originally, EMG Entertainment was supposed to reissue all three Atheist albums, but Kelly Shaefer aborted those plans after only ''Piece of Time'' had been reissued. This release has been digitally remastered, and features six bonus tracks.

2005 Re-release

In 2005,

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...

re-released ''Piece of Time'', this time along with the rest of Atheist's catalogue. This release was also digitally remastered, and features nine bonus tracks.

Personnel

Atheist

* Kelly Shaefer – vocals, rhythm guitar * Rand Burkey – lead guitar * Roger Patterson – bass * Steve Flynn – drums

Production

* Scott Burns – production * Atheist – production * Borivoj Krgin – executive production * Scott Burns – engineering * Mike Fuller – mastering *

Ed Repka Edward J. Repka (born October 22, 1960) is an American graphic artist, best known for creating album covers for heavy metal music, metal bands as well as shirt designs, including those featuring Megadeth's mascot Vic Rattlehead. Repka's portfolio ...

– cover art Recorded at

Morrisound Recording Morrisound Recording (also Morrisound Studios) is an audio recording facility in Tampa, Florida, United States, owned and operated by brothers Jim and Tom Morris. Since its opening in 1981, Morrisound has been responsible for the popularization o ...

. Mastered at Fuller Sound.

References

{{Authority control 1990 debut albums Atheist (band) albums Active Records albums Relapse Records albums Albums produced by Scott Burns (record producer) Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording Albums with cover art by Ed Repka