Each album incites new success 

With just over ten years on the music scene, Allegaeon has seen continuous exponential growth and their latest album, Apoptosis, continues this trend. What is the extreme metal band’s fifth full-length studio album, is full of different contrasts across all instruments.

One song is full of screaming vocals, the next is a mixture of screaming and clear ones. Most songs have strong electric guitar sequences comes through while a few, like “Colors of the Current,” showcase exquisite acoustic guitar skills. Compared to their previous albums, the guitar pace is slower and more drawn out as they support the vocals.

Guitarist, Michael Stancel, revealed to metalbalde that he “was more open to ideas that [the band] might not have used in the past.” Clearly, this statement shines in the album because while the album exudes what makes Allegaeon, Allegaeon, it also stands out among their five albums.

Some songs in which listeners can take in noteworthy sound and effects are “Stellar Tidal Disruption,” “Interphase // Meiosis” and “Colors of the Current.” For the first song mentioned before, the band created an echoing effect with distorted vocals. In general, the range of guitar in “Interphase // Meiosis” is vast for just one song and it shines on the album.

But, a track that stands out in more ways than one is “Colors of the Current.” While the fact that there are no vocals separates it from most of the other songs, the guitar is the shining focal. The clear plucking of an acoustic guitar can be felt and each note is punctuated, even when the song gets softer. Compared to the rest of the album, it’s a lot slower and it’s almost as if it’s winding listeners down from the journey they just experienced by listening to the album.  

Even the tracklist is something to take note of for Apoptosis. What at first seems like a long album when people read 21 as the final track number, quickly changes as they realize the lack of even numbering. Going by odd numbers is a move that draws attention and makes fans ponder the motive behind it.

Overall, Apoptosis shows that Allegaeon knows how to step up their game each time.