Atheist

Atheist is a technical death metal band from Sarasota, Florida, USA and regarded as one of the main developers of Floridian death metal. Their music is highly technical and sometimes reminiscent of jazz, combining brutal riffs with subtle latin music arrangements. They were founded in 1984 under the name Oblivion by guitarist (and later vocalist) Kelly Shaefer and drummer Mark. Mark was later replaced by drummer Steve Flynn because Kelly and Steve had similar musical tastes. Roger Patterson would later join as their bassist.

By early 1985, Oblivion changed their name to R.A.V.A.G.E. (Raging Atheists Vowing A Gory End). As R.A.V.A.G.E., they recruited a singer that is only known by the name of Scrappy. He did not participate on any of the R.A.V.A.G.E. recordings. The first demo was released in 1985 and it was called Kill or Be Killed (also known as the Rotting in Hell demo). The next demo would be the last in 1987 called On They Slay with lead guitarist Mark Scwartzberg.

After their last demo as R.A.V.A.G.E., they changed their moniker to Atheist. They released a couple of demos, Hell Hath No Mercy in 1987 and Beyond in 1988. They recorded their debut album, Piece of Time, in 1988 and it was to be released on the label Mean Machine, but the record label later went bankrupt. Piece of Time thus not released until 1990 on Active. In 1989, another demo was released.