Review by Morpheus Kitami for Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (1991)

I blame Atheist for giving me such high expectations for tech death metal. While there are many good tech death bands, few can match what this album accomplishes; and none can match the elegant simplicity of the intro to Mother Man. In ten seconds we get the bass leading, then a surprisingly simple guitar riff, and finally the focus is on the drums. Each part in harmony, creating a whole that is much more than it seems. It's rare an album that can show exactly how well it works in it's opening notes.
It's not that there isn't anywhere else for the genre to go after hearing this album, it's just that it's hard for anyone to come up with something that doesn't sound worse. Each factor that goes into making a song good, does here. A perfect blend of aggression, technicality and melody. And unlike a lot of guitar solos where it comes down to a case of technicality or artistry, this never comes up here. If I had to complain, I'd say that even after years of extreme metal and having the lyrics, it can be hard to decipher the vocals.
I really don't have much critical thought on this one simply because it was almost everything I wanted out of tech death. What more did I want? Elements.