Reactivated ATHEIST To Play More Shows In 2008

Vocalist Kelly Shaefer of the reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST has issued the following update:

"First off, let me just tell everyone who has written a letter or left messages on the net about more ATHEIST shows that your voices were heard loud, and clear, and after much discussion, and debate, we will bring ATHEIST back out for more shows in 2008.

"We never could have anticipated the amount of new ATHEIST fans that had been spawned in the last 5 years — it's refreshing — and after our performance at Hellfest a few months ago, we all came home and just felt like..... Fuck! That was the most remarkable moment we have ever had as a band, and it was difficult to swallow not doing it again EVER!

"The amount of mail has been staggering for shows all over the world, and the only reason we were going to stop was to not overstay our welcome. Judging from the outpouring of support, it seems at this point that it would clearly be 'OK' with everyone if we continued with more live shows. Another key reason for doing some more shows is that we want to be in prime form for the filming of our live record and DVD, which was originally scheduled for New York City in October. [However] we were not able to secure the date, and the show had to be postponed. As over three months have passed since our last show, it makes sense for us to do a few more to be in prime form for the preservation of our live set. In other words, we want to fucking kill it, and more shows will make that a reality. The difference between our performance at Bloodstock July 2006 and our performance's at Graspop and Hellfest in June 2007 were night and day.

"Coinciding with the ATHEIST shows will be the debut GNOSTIC record [featuring members of ATHEIST, with production by Shaefer]. The band is in the studio now and the CD will be done and ready for an early 2008 release. And since three-fifths of ATHEIST is also GNOSTIC, those guys are willing to pull double duty live!!! So, the plan is to come together and do double shows and blow everyone's face off their fucking skull. It will be incredible. We hope to pair up with CYNIC on some shows as well. ATHEIST, CYNIC and GNOSTIC on one bill would be ridiculous... Promoters, are you listening???!!!!

"I just returned from Atlanta, Georgia. I was at Led Belly Studios working with Steve Flynn [ATHEIST/GNOSTIC drummer] and the GNOSTIC boys on their monstrous debut album, 'Visceral'. We are set to mix beginning November 2nd, and if I can borrow a line from Roney Leigh, Israel's biggest ATHEIST fan, 'OH, MY FUCKING SCIENCE!' I can't wait for everyone to hear this record!

"Flynn and the boys have outdone themselves with their performances on this record, and the very best part of it is not necessarily the incredible technicality, which is dizzying to say the least, but the combination of utter brutality AND EXTREME technicality, something that I think gets lost on a lot of today's technical metal contemporaries. You can NEVER lose the BRUTALITY! I also sang on a track called 'Wall of Lies' with GNOSTIC vocalist Kevin Freeman, and suffice it to say it's PUNISHING!

"While several labels have offers in on GNOSTIC, we have not yet decided on a home as of now. We want to get the record done, and see who believes in it correctly, and then decide who will really get behind it, 'cause, in my opinion, it is instrumentally a new level in metal!"

Check out a sneak peek inside the recording of GNOSTIC's "Wall of Lies" below.

ATHEIST at Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium (2007):