Samstag, 10. Juni 2017

atheist - elements

last year i got meself a copy of atheist's debut full length "piece of time" and was pretty impressed with the sophisticated brand of metal they were playing, especially when considering the year of release of this album which was 1989. back then i wanted to get the other albums of the band as well but lost focus a little. seeing this album for sale two weeks ago on ebay kleinanzeigen served as a reminder. ebay kleinanzeigen is a second hand market by ebay with focus on local offers, similar to craigslist.org.
usually this isn't a proper site for searching for vinyl. in general search hits are limited for hardcore or metal stuff. i was checking options for atheist vinyl and just wanted to make sure i was exhausting all possibilities. actually i looked for a copy of "unquestionable presence" but came across a very reasonable priced copy of the third full length "elements". the seller listed the item as new and if that was true (season of mist vinyl comes unsealed in a protection sleeve), i paid even less than from a store.
musically this album is a blast. a wild, jazzy trip through thrashed prog death metal. "elements" is a surprise bag full of ideas tied together by masterful musicianship. the lyrical theme build around the four elements adds to the progressive approach on metal. the colourful artwork by kristian wåhlin works perfectly with the musical part of the piece. in this context i think that season of mist could have gone a bit crazier with the vinyl colour as well. clear red is a nice match nevertheless. 250 copies made. season of mist records. 2015.