Allegaeon "Damnum (Digipak, USA, Metal Blade Records, 3984-15816-2)"

Damnum is the sixth studio album by American death metal band Allegaeon. It is the bands first release to feature Jeff Saltzman on drums, and the last to feature vocalist Riley McShane. The record charted at No. 100 on the Billboard Top Album Sales charts. Loudwire named the album among the top 50 best rock and metal albums of 2022.

On April 14, 2021, Allegaeon announced that former Aversed drummer Jeff Saltzman would be joining the band to replace Brandon Park, who had departed in 2020. Guitarist Greg Burgess noted the upcoming album would be the first record on which the drummer had written all their parts, where in the past the guitarists had programmed a beat and had their drummer write-out the fills.

On October 27, 2021, Metal Blade Records announced Allegaeon's forthcoming sixth studio album Damnum would be released on February 25, 2022.

A promotional single "Into Embers" and an accompanying music video was released the same day, with vocalist Riley McShane describing the track as a song that "embodies the dark and fitful nature of this album by bringing to the table elements of ourselves as a band and as individual musicians that we have been waiting to share with you all for a long, long time."

The band also announced that the record would be produced by Dave Otero at Colorado's Flatline Audio Studio.

On January 20, 2022, the band released a music video for the song "Of Beasts and Worms."

Damnum would ultimately prove to the be last album featuring vocalist of seven years Riley McShane, who announced his departure from the band in August 2022.

The album's artwork was provided by Travis Smith.

Lyrically, Damnum is substantially darker than Allegaeon's earlier works, and focuses on personal topics and loss, abandoning the scientific focus of earlier releases. One reviewer noted the title is Latin word meaning "a loss or hurt, harm, or damage." and that those themes are persistent throughout the record. Vocalist Riley McShane noted that there "was a lot of anger and sadness present when writing the album. Not with each other, but just as a by-product of the shape of things in the world around us, as well as some hard-hitting losses in our individual lives."

The album employs substantially more clean vocals than prior releases, perhaps making the album more "accessible" than prior efforts. Many reviewers also noted the influence of other bands on this record's sound, specifically Opeth, Archspire, and Katatonia.

The album was well received by critics, with Loudwire naming it one of the 50 best rock and metal albums of the year. Metal Injection reviewer Max Morin stated the album might be the band's best yet, and praised Saltzman's drums and Otero's production, noting the band's evolution "from mechanical tech-deathheads to progressive wayfarers." Blabbermouth.net also reviewed the album positively, stating "ALLEGAEON have always been a bit special, and this is their most fantastic and fearless voyage to date."

Commercially, the album sold 1,675 units in its first week, debuting at No. 52 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Sales chart.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Allegaeon, except where noted

1. "Bastards of the Earth" 4:32
2. "Of Beasts and Worms" 6:30
3. "Into Embers" 5:19
4. "To Carry My Grief Through Torpor and Silence" 5:19
5. "Vermin" 5:10
6. "Called Home" 7:40
7. "Blight" 5:01
8. "The Dopamine Void, Pt. 1" 2:06
9. "The Dopamine Void, Pt. II" 5:01
10. "Saturnine" 4:41
11. "In Mourning" 1:51
12. "Only Loss" 6:53

Total length: 1:00:08

Recording information:

Produced, engineered, mixed and mastered at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado, United States.

Allegaeon "Apoptosis (USA, Metal Blade Records, 3984-15612-2)"

Apoptosis is the fifth studio album by American death metal band Allegaeon. Produced by the band's longtime producer Dave Otero, the album was released on April 23, 2019 through Metal Blade Records. This is the first Allegaeon record to feature bassist Brandon Michael and the last to feature drummer Brandon Park.

Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.

Describing the album, vocalist Riley McShane stated "'Thematically, this record is all about contrast, and the music reflects that perfectly. The vocals are heavier than ever, but there are also more clean sections. The drums are faster than ever but also more dynamic, and the guitar playing is lower and slower than on most previous albums, but also provides long, melodic and beautiful sections throughout.'"

The song "Colors of the Currents" is an instrumental track featuring guitarist Greg Burgess playing classical guitar alongside Christina Sandsengen.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Allegaeon, except where noted

1. "Parthenogenesis" (instrumental) 2:15
2. "Interphase // Meiosis" 5:09
3. "Extremophiles (B)" 5:54
4. "The Secular Age" 4:37
5. "Exothermic Chemical Combustion" 4:43
6. "Extremophiles (A)" 4:03
7. "Metaphobia" 4:14
8. "Tsunami and Submergence" 6:26
9. "Colors of the Currents" (instrumental; feat. Christina Sandsengen) Greg Burgess, Christina Sandsengen 2:39
10. "Stellar Tidal Disruption" 6:07
11. "Apoptosis" 10:19

Total length: 56:25

Recording information:

Recorded at Flatline Audio, Denver, USA.

Allegaeon "Proponent For Sentience (USA, Metal Blade Records, 3984-15466-2)"

Proponent for Sentience is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Allegaeon. It is the band's first release with vocalist Riley McShane and the first to feature clean vocals. The album was released on September 23, 2016, through Metal Blade Records. This is the band's last release with bassist Corey Archuleta, who announced he would be leaving the band at the end of 2016.

The album was produced by Dave Otero, who produced the band's debut album and previous release, Elements of the Infinite.

"Gray Matter Mechanics – Apassionata Ex Machinea" was the first song released from the album, being released on July 14, 2016. The song marked vocalist Riley McShane's debut with the band. On August 10 the band released the second song from the album, "Proponent for Sentience III – The Extermination", which features guest vocals from Björn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork and guest guitar from Benjamin Ellis of Scar Symmetry. On August 23, Allegaeon released a cover of "Subdivisions", originally by Canadian progressive rock band Rush. A week later on August 30, a music video was released for the song "All Hail Science". The video was shot at Black Sky Brewery in Denver, Colorado.

The album was made available for streaming on September 21 through MetalSucks. The album was released two days later on September 23 via Metal Blade Records.

Upon release, Proponent for Sentience received positive reviews from music critics.

Reviewing the album for Metal Hammer, Jason Hicks gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5. Hicks said the extended flamenco passage at the end of "Gray Matter Mechanics" could be potentially jarring and felt that the album's science concept was "samey", but praised the band's musicianship and McShane's vocals, especially on album opener "Proponent for Sentience I – The Conception". New Noise Magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and criticized the album's 72 minute run-time and called some of the album's writing sub-par, but said the album is "Allegaeon's best and most complete work to date." The reviewer also praised the song "Proponent for Sentience III – The Extermination" for feeling "like a natural conclusion, with its Grade A melodies and hair-raising moments."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Allegaeon, except where noted

1. "Proponent for Sentience I - The Conception" 6:23
2. "All Hail Science" 3:24
3. "From Nothing" 5:00
4. "Gray Matter Mechanics - Apassionata Ex Machinea" 8:18
5. "Of Mind and Matrix" 5:33
6. "Proponent for Sentience II - The Algorithm" 8:19
7. "Demons of an Intricate Design" 4:25
8. "Terrathaw and the Quake" 6:10
9. "Cognitive Computations" 5:58
10. "The Arbiters" 6:11
11. "Proponent for Sentience III - The Extermination" (featuring Björn "Speed" Strid and Benjamin Ellis) 6:59
12. "Subdivisions" (Rush cover) Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart 5:25

Total length: 72:05

Recording information:

Recorded, mixed and mastered at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado, United States.

Orchestratrions arranged and sequenced at Monumental Audio.

Dave Otero – production and mastering

Joseph Ferris – orchestration, sequencing

Sam Nelson – artwork

Allegaeon "Formshifter (USA, Metal Blade Records, 3984-15093-2)"

Allegaeon is an American Death Metal band from Fort Collins, Colorado, formed in 2008. They have released one EP and six studio albums and are currently signed to Metal Blade Records.

Formshifter is the second studio album by American death metal band Allegaeon. The album was released on May 8, 2012 through Metal Blade Records. As the band did not employ a drummer during the album's production, all drum parts were handled by session musician J. P. Andrande. The album charted at no. 29 on the Top Heatseekers chart.

The first song to be released from the album was "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst". The song's official video was uploaded to Metal Blade's YouTube channel on February 21, 2012. "Behold (God I Am)" was the second song to be released, with its lyric video premiering on May 7. The album was released the next day, on May 8. A music video was released on August 31 for the song "A Path Disclosed".

Upon its release, Formshifter has received generally positive reviews.

About.com reviewer Andrew Kapper gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying "there is never a flat moment on the LP" and commending Ezra Haynes's vocals along with the guitar work. AllMusic reviewer Gregory Heaney gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, comparing the album to At the Gates and Arch Enemy and calling the album a "nonstop riff-fest". Chronicles of Chaos gave the album a 7 out of 10 and said the album's tracks increase in terms of quality, making the first three tracks "seem like a year old inconvenience".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Allegaeon

1. "Behold (God I Am)" 7:18
2. "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst" 4:23
3. "A Path Disclosed" 4:29
4. "Iconic Images" 4:24
5. "Twelve-vals for the Legions" 7:11
6. "The Azrael Trigger" 5:00
7. "From the Stars Death Came" 5:25
8. "Timeline Dissonance" 3:21
9. "Formshifter" 5:18
10. "Secrets of the Sequence" 6:02

Total length: 52:51

Recording information:

Recorded at Lambesis Studios, Escondido, CA

Daniel Castleman – Engineer, mastering, mixing

Elmo Arteaga – Assistant engineer

Collin Marks – Artwork

Donovan Roubsouay – photography

Brian J. Ames – layout