''Elements'' is the third studio album released 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 ...

. It was released on August 30, 1993 by

Music for Nations Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in 1 ...

in Europe and by

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 ...

in the US. ''Elements'' was reissued by

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 ...

in 2005 and was digitally remastered with the addition of six bonus tracks. Eduardo Rivadavia described the album for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as remaining "admirably true to the band's famously complicated arrangements, syncopated rhythms, and ultra-precise attack, but also boast nga cleaner musicality never before attempted by the group". ''Elements'' was written, recorded and mixed in forty days in Pro Media Studios.
Elements
' at

Encyclopaedia Metallum Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (commonly known as Metal Archives per the URL or abbreviated as MA) is an online encyclopedia based upon musical artists who predominantly perform heavy metal music along with its various sub-genres. E ...

The band wanted to dissolve but they were required to finish their third album in order to fulfill a contract to their record label. ''Elements'' features the addition of a third guitarist, Frank Emmi. Initially, Rand Burkey was not going to appear on the album, and as Kelly Shaefer had developed

carpal tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunn ...

, (preventing him from playing anything but

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

) a new

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

player was needed. Before recording, Burkey rejoined the band, and thus the band ended up with three guitarists. Shaefer plays rhythm guitar, while Emmi and Burkey share responsibilities for leads and solos. ''Elements'' was Atheist's last studio album for 17 years, until the 2010 release of ''

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

''.

Critical reception

''Elements'' was described by James Hinchcliffe in ''Terrorizer'' as "less frantic and jazz-leaning than ''Unquestionable Presence'', and packed with unexpectedly Latin rhythms" that caused the album to "hurtle...to the edge of metal". Eduardo Rivadavia praised the band for "delivering another highly accomplished set that illustrated both a natural evolution of their sound and served as a worthy final chapter to their all-too-brief and very troubled trajectory".

Track listing

2005 Re-release

In 2005,

re-released ''Elements''. This edition was digitally remastered, and features six

bonus tracks An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

. ''Live BBC Radio Broadcast (1992)''

Personnel

* Kelly Shaefer −

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Rand Burkey −

* Frank Emmi − lead guitar *

Tony Choy Tony Choy (born June 11, 1971) is a Cuban-American electric bassist. He was a session musician for some well-known technical death metal bands such as Atheist (band), Atheist, Cynic (band), Cynic and the Dutch band Pestilence (band), Pestilence. ...

−

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Guest musician * David Smadbeck - piano (track 3) * Josh Greenbaum −

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

(track 3) Personnel on 2005 re-release bonus live tracks * Kelly Shaefer - vocals, rhythm guitar * Rand Burkey - lead guitar * Darren McFarland - bass * Steve Flynn - drums

Production

*Mark Pinske - producer, engineer, mixing *

- producers *Shawn Camner - engineer *Kelly Shaefer - mixing

References

{{Authority control Atheist (band) albums 1993 albums Metal Blade Records albums Relapse Records albums