Piece of Time

Piece of Time is the debut album by the technical death metal band Atheist, 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, who released their album in Europe soon after. The album was not released in the US for another six months, until Metal Blade Records 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.

Piece of Time
Studio album by Atheist
Released	February 1990
Recorded	November – December 1988
Genre	Technical death metal thrash metal[1] progressive metal
Length	32:10
Label	Active
Producer	Scott Burns
Atheist chronology
Piece of Time (1990) Unquestionable Presence (1991)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Rock Hard (de)	8/10[3]
Terrorizer	9/10[1]

Reception

In 2005, Piece of Time was ranked number 402 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[4] It was described by James Hinchliffe in Terrorizer as the band's "least technically accomplished release and their most lyrically immature, [yet] it remains an exceptional work of late 80s deaththrash, crackling with an uncommon energy and creativity".[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Kelly Shaefer.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Piece of Time"	Kelly Shaefer, Rand Burkey, Roger Patterson, Steve Flynn	4:30
2.	"Unholy War"	Shaefer, Patterson, Flynn	2:19
3.	"Room with a View"	Shaefer, Burkey, Patterson, Flynn	4:06
4.	"On They Slay"	Shaefer	3:39
5.	"Beyond"	Shaefer, Patterson, Flynn	3:00
6.	"I Deny"	Shaefer, Burkey, Patterson, Flynn	4:01
7.	"Why Bother?"	Shaefer, Patterson, Flynn	2:55
8.	"Life"	Shaefer, Flynn, Patterson	3:09
9.	"No Truth"	Shaefer, Burkey, Patterson, Flynn	4:30
Total length:			32:10

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.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Piece of Time"	4:30
2.	"Unholy War"	2:19
3.	"Room with a View"	4:06
4.	"On They Slay"	3:39
5.	"Beyond"	3:00
6.	"I Deny"	4:01
7.	"Why Bother?"	2:55
8.	"Life"	3:09
9.	"No Truth"	4:30
10.	"Undefiled Wisdom" (On They Slay demo)	4:30
11.	"Brain Damage" (On They Slay demo)	4:50
12.	"On They Slay" (On They Slay demo)	4:06
13.	"Hell Hath No Mercy" (Hell Hath No Mercy demo)	2:59
14.	"Choose Your Death" (Hell Hath No Mercy demo)	3:18
15.	"No Truth" (Hell Hath No Mercy demo)	4:11
Total length:		56:05

2005 Re-release

In 2005, Relapse Records 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.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Piece of Time"	4:30
2.	"Unholy War"	2:19
3.	"Room with a View"	4:06
4.	"On They Slay"	3:39
5.	"Beyond"	3:00
6.	"I Deny"	4:01
7.	"Why Bother?"	2:55
8.	"Life"	3:09
9.	"No Truth"	4:30
10.	"No Truth" (Beyond demo)	3:34
11.	"On They Slay" (Beyond demo)	3:34
12.	"Choose Your Death" (Beyond demo)	3:04
13.	"Brain Damage" (Beyond demo)	4:10
14.	"Beyond" (Beyond demo)	2:53
15.	"Hell Hath No Mercy" (Hell Hath No Mercy demo)	2:59
16.	"On They Slay" (On They Slay demo)	4:06
17.	"Brain Damage" (On They Slay demo)	4:50
18.	"Undefiled Wisdom" (On They Slay demo)	4:30
Total length:		67:44

Personnel

Atheist

• Kelly Shaefer – vocals, guitar
• Rand Burkey – 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 – cover art

Recorded at Morrisound Recording. Mastered at Fuller Sound.

References

1. Hinchcliffe, James (November 2005). "Atheist: Piece of Time/Unquestionable Presence/Elements". Terrorizer (137): 72.
2. Allmusic review
3. Recker, Oliver. "Rock Hard review". issue 37. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
4. [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 48. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)