Atheist (band)

Atheist
Live at Hole In The Sky, Bergen Metal Fest 2006
Background information
Origin	Sarasota, Florida, United States
Genres	Technical death metal, progressive metal,jazz fusion
Years active	1984–1992, 1993-1994, 2006–present
Labels	Season of Mist
Associated acts	Neurotica, Gnostic, Cynic, Pestilence
Members	Kelly Shaefer Steve Flynn Chris Martin Jason Holloway Tony Choy
Past members	Former members

Atheist is a death metal band from Florida, founded in 1984 by drummer Steve Flynn and singer/guitarist Kelly Shaefer. The band are known for their highly technical playing style, while their album Unquestionable Presence (1991) is regarded as an important landmark of the genre. After disbanding in 1994, the band reformed in 2008 and have since released one studio album and a live DVD.

The band was founded in 1984 in Sarasota, Florida, United States, firstly under the name Oblivion and later R.A.V.A.G.E. (which stands for Raging Atheists Vowing A Gory End). They recorded their debut album, Piece of Time, in 1988, which was released in Europe in 1989, but not in the United States until 1990. In 1991, bassist Roger Patterson died in a car accident and Atheist recruited Tony Choy (previously a member of Cynic) to record their second album, Unquestionable Presence. Atheist disbanded for the first time in 1992, reuniting in 1993 and recording their third album Elements, fulfilling their contractual requirements, before disbanding for the second time.

Seven years after their second break up, Kelly Shaefer decided to re-release and remaster their three albums with different bonus tracks.

Shaefer played with Neurotica until 2002, whereas Tony Choy played in a number of other bands, including Area 305 and Pestilence. In 2001, Kelly Shaefer tried to regroup the band with all the original members with the addition of the acclaimed Kyle Sokol from the Tampa Bay area on bass guitar, replacing Tony Choy due to Choy's other band commitments according to a metal magazine interview. The band reunion at this time never came to fruition due to Neurotica going on OzzFest.