Having recruited a new guitarist and drummer since I heard them last, Allegaeon haven’t lost anything at all. Perhaps they’ve even gained about a bit of that initial spark that bands have when they start working as a cohesive unit and have penned a rather impressive album here.
The opening acoustic guitar morphs into a rather symphonic orchestra with choir as it continues to build into “Threshold of Perception” where Greg Burgess and Michael Stancel’s guitars appear to be trying to out duel each other with their flamboyant riffs and intricate changes as Ezra Haynes screams and growls menacingly in the background.
Brandon Park shows he is able to both keep a simple back beat and blast maniacally on “Tyrants of the Terrestrial Exodus” letting the guitars and vocals come to the fore when required in the song.
The easiest comparison I can make for “Dyson Sphere” is Dark Tranquillity, and I think that’s a pretty decent place to be. Ezra’s vocals range from very low roars to more melodic growls to accompany the varying speed of the guitar riffs.
The rumbling bass interludes and solos played by Corey Archuleta on “The Phylogenesis Stretch” could almost give the leads a run for their money, if it weren’t for the fact that the latter are far more numerous and lengthy.
They released a promo video for “1.618” which is well worth watching as it shows that while they are serious musicians they can also have fun but more importantly how difficult they are to pigeon hole musically, because they are not merely technical death metal.
I really like the second guitar riff on “Gravimetric Time Dilation” as it slows and stretches and almost follows its own timing signature while letting the main riff drive the song and carry it during the multitude of lead breaks.
The lead-fest that is “Our Cosmic Casket” still allows the drums and vocals a chance to fight to be heard over the guitars when they break down to play their rhythm riffs before meandering back into their flowing leads.
“Biomech II” is the follow on from a song on ‘Fragments of Form and Function’ and musically follows on with the same intensity and manic leads.
Essentially “Through Ages of Ice – Otzi’s Curse” is an instrumental with some phenomenal leads
Going all biblical on us, “Genocide for Praise – Vals for the Vitruvian Man” weighs in just shy of 13 minutes, granted the last 3 minutes are sweet acoustic guitar reprise of the album intro, and lyrical content appears to concern itself with the Passover, from what I can tell.
A great album that has plenty of dynamics that range from fast to ultra-fast but still never seems to get a note in the wrong place throughout. If you enjoyed their previous efforts then you’ll love this one, which you’ll probably do regardless of whether you’ve heard them before and enjoy technical but ferocious music.
(7/10 – Marco Gaminara)
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