The Spotlight Kid In the world of Technical, Progressive and Melodic Death Metal there are few bands who have made as memorable a mark as Colorado’s Allegaeon. For 15 years and through various line-up changes Allegaeon have forged their complex sound to the point where they now sit firmly at the tip of the spear of these sub genres. Now in 2022, the guys, in partnership, once again, with the highly sought after producer Dave Otero, have dropped their sixth full-length album in Damnum.

The title Damnum is a latin word meaning loss. Consequently the lyrical themes explored within by singer Riley McShane reflects many of his own and other band members' feelings of anger, grief, sadness and loneliness, which they have experienced over the last few years. Channeling the pain felt by the suicides of two close friends and even drawing lyrics from the suicide notes as well as literature that had been enjoyed between the friends gives the whole thing a real potency of feeling and at times can get pretty dark. However Riley has stated that his intention was more about showing the listeners who may also feel these dark emotions that they are not alone and to try to find a positive strength and light in the darkness through the music. I think they have done an excellent job with this synthesis.

While the lyrical content and pain is there to be felt, the music itself throughout is very uplifting and exciting, even with the brutality. Certainly the violence and furocity the band has always had remains and is even perfected further, yet so are the melodic elements. Allegaeon has reached new heights in that department. The guitar playing prowess from Greg Burgess and Michael Stancel is undeniable. Seamlessly mixing gentle complex acoustic passages with bludgeoning death metal riffing as well as beautiful heavy melodic passages and jaw-dropping solos. On Damnum, Allegaeon welcomes new drummer Jeff Saltzman, formerly of Continuum. With his inclusion and in combination with the uber talented Brandon Michael on bass, the rhythm section is equally mesmerizing.

In recent years Allegaeon albums have always been very consistent affairs from top to bottom and Damnum is no different. In my opinion it’s even more so than previously. So picking standout tracks is a hard task because every song is an exciting world of its own to explore. However you can't go wrong with the bludgeoning “Of Beasts and Worms”, the absolutely killer riffing of “To Carry My Grief Through Torpor and Silence”, the melodic splendor of “Into Embers” and the pulverizing power of “Blight”. Also the two part “The Dopamine Void” is once again another album highlight for Allegaeon as well as for Riley’s fantastic vocals, which for those unfamiliar with the band is a mix of killer, top-tier Death growls and goosebump inducing clean singing. I believe he’s announced his departure from the band, which if true, is a huge loss because the guy is a genuinely talented vocalist.

Allegaeon haven’t really done anything vastly different on Damnum and those familiar with their work will find it fits in with their established sound and direction very well. What they have achieved however is to level everything up quite dramatically. The compositions are the best they have ever produced, the playing and singing, which has always been great, is somehow even better, and the production by Dave Otero sounds full and powerful. Damnum is the band's best album to date and that's saying a lot because they have been pumping out great albums for years now. If you love it technical but also loaded with aggression, melodic expression and emotion then don’t sleep on Damnum. It’s Allegaeon’s masterpiece. (originally published on SoT and The Metal Spotlight)

siLLy puPPy Over the past ten years Denver’s ALLEGAEON has become one of Colorado’s biggest names to emerge in the vast expansive world of extreme metal with its acute tech death metal chops enshrouded in shards of neoclassical spender along with extreme competency of instrumental interplay and a propensity for surprise. Fourteen years after the band’s formation, its sixth album DAMNUM finds the light of day after a rough three years since its previous effort “Apoptosis.” There has been a change of duties on the percussive side of the equation with newbie Jeff Saltzman replacing Brandon Park.

DAMNUM which means “loss” in Latin was chosen to mourn the loss of two friends to suicide. Both vocalist Riley McShane and founding member and guitarist Greg Burgess decided to express their grief through the lyrics on the record but of course this is extreme metal and the unintelligible lyrical deliveries will most likely need to be supplemented by the written accompaniments. ALLEGAEON continues to expand its classic tech death demeanor by adding more dynamics which includes in addition to the technical extreme rampages, moments of sensual Spanish guitar, post-metal excursions and the greater use of clean vocal styles including harmonic tidbits.

Over the course of its six album run ALLEGAEON has become a tech death powerhouse by continually adding layers of complexity to its approach. While starting off as somewhat of a generic representation of the tech death universe, from “Formshifter” to “Apoptosis” ALLEGAEON has pushed its own boundaries to become more eclectic. In many ways this band seems to have followed in the footsteps of the German band Obscura with its tightrope act between the distinct worlds of death metal, neoclassical metal and often flirting with progressive rock. Such is the case with DAMNUM which accentuates these traits even further.

In addition to the chunky guitar riffs that slink around at breakneck speed as well as the expected bass and drum rhythmic drive, ALLEGAEON has included many acoustic Spanish guitar sections and softer atmospheric moments that sound more like the airy fairy world of Riverside than anything in the ALLEGAEON playbook. Roughly speaking the band sticks to its now famous tech death fury but tracks like “Called Home” will make you wonder if they slipped another band’s song onto the album with a generic but competent Riverside style of clean vocal singing and a slower death doom chugging. The band is clearly breaking free from the limitations of a tech death metal band running on pure adrenaline mode but the softer passages point to a clear attempt to become a bit more commercial and it’s in these moments that leave me cold. The alt metal parts remind of Tool a bit.

“Blight” is another standout for its uncanny shapeshifting from the tech death crunch-o-thon to a surprise cameo of a piano roll which works effectively well. McShane’s vocal style often sounds like his guttural rapping of some sort which makes his vocal phrasing a bit different from the legions of tech deathers out there. Saltzman’s drum rolls likewise are more diverse than the continuous assault of blastbeats and jazz fueled machine gun blitzkriegs. A few tracks like “The Dopamine Void, Pt I” for example are a bit too cheesy for my tastes and the reason Riverside rubs me the wrong way with cheesy earnest clean vocal deliveries with an orchestration that deemphasizes the metal. The “Pt II” delivers the tech metal goods but the opening sequence leaves a nauseating taste in my mouth.

As for the tech death parts, ALLEGAEON does sound a bit like a one trick pony often with a heap of metalcore seeping into the death metal thus giving it a brackish sound which is neither good nor bad but distinct. Personally i’ve never found ALLEGAEON to be a top dog in my extreme metal reality but i can’t deny that they consistently deliver an excellent supply of adrenaline charged extreme metal that continues to find new ways of keeping its fanbase on its toes. While the slower clean vocal segments aren’t the bands forte, they don’t dissuade overly from the overall flow of the album either. All in all ALLEGAEON entered the next decade of the 21st century in fine form and with the slight crossover tendencies will surely continue to sally forth into the tech death battlefield like pros.

siLLy puPPy ALLAGAEON (pronouned uh-LEE-juhn) formed in 2008 in the Fort Collins, Colorado area of the USA by vocalist Ezra Haynes, lead guitarist Greg Burgess, rhythm guitarist Ryan Gilsan, bassist Corey Archuleta and drummer Jordon Belfast of which only Burgess remains in the modern day era (2019 when i write this.) The band started out playing local gigs around at bars and in house gigs but soon caught the attention of Metal Blade Records who signed them after hearing how much they kicked ass on this debut self-titled and self-released EP of four tracks.

Having one foot in the past and another in the brave new world of the 21st century ALLAGAEON found a niche on the melodic side of the technical death metal camp. Churning out aggressive guitar riffs at a million miles per second, ALLAGAEON seems to have taken a cue from Marty Friedman era Megadeth especially on some of the melodic thrash metal techniques on “Rust In Peace” and applied them to a more suitable death metal context complete with blastbeat technical drumming wizardry laced with jazzy drumming skills in the mix.

Ezra Haynes’ vocals exhibit the typical death metal growls but the musical drive somehow melds the aforementioned Megadeth thrash with bombastic groove metal chops in for good measure however the galloping riffs and melodic soaring neoclassical soloing clearly reminds me of tracks like “Holy Wars” from Megadeth’s 1990 magnum opus. The technical displays come in not only the virtuosic instrumental interplay with amazingly precise bass grooves, guitar riffs / solos and percussive perfection but also in some of the compositional skills. While the melodic bantering can remind a lot of band like Amon Amarth with the double-bass drum patterns and extra catchy hooks, the compositions are dragged out a bit and whenever the saccharine detector registers too high, the band seem to steer it all into a more bombastic counterpunch.

This is a full fury album with four tracks that fire on all pistons for the EP’s 20 minute run. With a slight pension towards the progressive side of extreme metal, the amazing part of ALLAGAEON is how well they deliver the melodies without sounding like it. While melodic constructs are the clear focus, the intense fury delivered by the technicality and heaviness steals the show as the lyrics delve into the expected tech death subject matter of alien life and other sci-fi themes. While more famous for later works such as 2016’s critically acclaimed “Proponent For Sentience,” this debut EP is a stunningly excellent starter filled with one impressive series of musical chops after another and a testament to how well balanced a tech death metal can sound. Definitely not one to be missed.

adg211288 Having made three albums, the most recent of which was Elements of the Infinite (2014), the US melodic technical death metal act Allegaeon parted ways with their vocalist Ezra Haynes. While it would be easy to say that a band that exclusively uses growled vocals can replace a vocalist easily I personally think that's a major misconception. For me the growled vocals can make or break a death metal act, so Haynes was always going to be a tough act to follow. Fortunately Allegaeon have found one Riley McShane (also of acts such as Continuum and Son of Aurelius) who not only brings decent growls with him, but also an ability to sing cleanly.

After Elements of the Infinite displayed a lower amount of melodic death metal influence compared to what went before, having a vocalist who can sing cleanly doesn't mean that Allegaeon have brought it back on Proponent for Sentience (2016), which is their fourth full-length album. Musically this is a natural progression on from the previous album, with even less melodic death metal elements, which has resulted in their longest and most adventurous album to date; music that is now somewhat progressive as well as technical. The only time you'll really get to hear what Riley McShane is capable of in the clean singing department for any length is during Subdivisions, a Rush cover song that was initially supposed to be a bonus track but ended up closing the album instead. It's done fully with clean singing (as one would expect – this is no Six Feet Under-esque interpretation). Elsewhere he sticks to his growl most of the time though there are clean vocal passages in some other songs such as Cognitive Computations and he even uses some throat singing on All Hail Science. The clean vocals feature quite prominently in Proponent For Sentience III - The Extermination as well, however those are by guest vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork. That song also features a guest guitar solo by Ben Ellis (ex-Bloodshot Dawn).

Increased complexity and less melodic death metal means that Proponent for Sentience isn't as instantly grabbing for me as Elements of the Infinite was, though you do still get tracks like Of Mind and Matrix, which I'm honestly surprised wasn't the album's lead single with its hook-laden melodic death metal chorus that produces a similar effect to the previous album's 1.618. That doesn't mean that the album doesn't reward a bit of perseverance. It's like most lengthy albums in that respect (this one clocks in past the seventy minute mark, whereas previous Allegaeon albums were between fifty to sixty). There's a lot of material to sink your teeth into and explore. And it's certainly worth exploring as along with the aforementioned Mind and Matrix as a highlight there is also the Proponent For Sentience trio of songs which are spread across the album, which make use of some symphonic elements, as well as the equally excellent Gray Matter Mechanics - Appassonata Ex Machinea, which I'd say is one of the album's more progressive tracks, with lots of acoustic work in conjunction with their usual death metal sound, including an extended acoustic section in the latter half of the track.

While I think I slightly prefer Elements of the Infinite to Proponent for Sentience, it's clear that Allegaeon are evolving as a band by leaps and bounds, so this one is just as recommendable release. If anything it's only real problem is that it hints at potentially better stuff to come thanks to their increasingly progressive way of writing and the vocal abilities of Riley McShane, which they may well have only scratched the surface of if what we can hear here is any indication.

adg211288 Just before I took my first listen to Elements of the Infinite (2014), which is the third full-length album by US death metal act Allegaeon, I realised something about the death metal releases of 2014 that I'd enjoyed so far: there wasn't a really killer technical death metal effort among them. Epic melodic death from Arch Enemy's War Eternal, challenging progressive death in Lascaille's Shroud's Interval 02: Parallel Infinities, The Abscinded Universe, powerful symphonic death from MaYaN's Antagonise and even some good old classic sounding death metal from Deus Otiosus' Rise. But no technical death metal standout. Well, until now that is.

I haven't encountered Allegaeon before this album but it seems that their earlier work is usually described as technically minded melodic death metal rather than technical death. On Elements of the Infinite though the music is actually dominantly full-on technical death metal that occasionally has a prominent and epic melodic death metal vibe on top, as is the case with the album's lead single 1.618. So it seems that the band has done an about face with their mix of the two styles of death metal. Having not heard any of their older work I can't really say how it compares, but from an outsider's point of view I was instantly impressed with Elements of the Infinite. Aside from the impeccable musicianship I also especially enjoy the lyrics which are themed around space and science-fiction. The growls of vocalist Ezra Haynes being easier to follow than most really helps me feel appreciation for the lyrics. It's clear that a good deal of thought has good into them and as a fan of sci-fi and spacey stuff they strike a chord with me on a personal level too.

Elements of the Infinite is impressive right from the start with the opening track Threshold of Perception, which starts with a nice symphonic and acoustic guitar build up before segueing into lead guitar playing and choirs until things really get going with the technical riffs. Most bands probably would have done something as a separate intro track and been worse off for it. Allegaeon make no such mistake. If anything though Elements of the Infinite is an album that gets more impressive as it goes along. The more melodic death metal influenced tracks provide a great balance between the technical playing that characterises the album. Another aspect I especially enjoy is the album's atmospheric side. There's even some quasi-symphonic stuff happening in the background on certain songs like, Biomech II, which is definitely one of the best tracks on the album along with 1.618 (make sure to also check out the hilarious music video for this one), Gravimetric Time Dilation and Threshold of Perception.

Elements of the Infinite is the first excellent technical death metal record I've heard so far this year and it sets the standard for other bands to beat. Masterful musicianship and strong vocals meets a great balance of aggression, melody and sophistication. That's what Elements of the Infinite is. 94/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/allegaeon-elements-of-the-infinite-t3678.html)