Fast, ferocious and dark
Specializing in extreme death metal, Allegaeon has been making a name for themselves for over fifteen years. Originally formed in 2007, Allegaeon’s style of extreme techno death metal was molded in restaurants and clubs across the midwestern city of Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2010, Allegaeon signed with Metal Blade Records and released their first album, Fragments of Form and Function.
Fort Collins is a smaller city that has been represented well on Allegaeon’s nationwide tours. In their twelve years with Metal Blade Records, Allegaeon has released popular albums like Elements of the Infinite in 2015 and Apoptosis in 2019. In February of 2022, Allegaeon returned to the world of music production with the release of their latest album DAMNUM. DAMNUM continues the use of extreme death metal utilized in the group’s previous releases, solidifying this group’s legacy.
Over Allegaeon’s 15-year history, the group has had 11 members come and go. The group currently consists of five members: Greg Burgess as the lead guitarist, Michael Stancel on rhythm guitar, Brandon Michael on bass guitar, Jeff Saltzman on drums and featuring the vocal stylings of Riley McShane.
DAMNUM contains a well-crafted balance of extreme metal with hints of technic-metal that perfectly fuses together the bass, guitars and drums. Many songs on DAMNUM seem familiar— like what has been played on many albums prior, but what sets them apart are those touches of futuristic technic-metal.
“Into Embers” is a great example of the familiar, but futuristic tone presented on DAMNUM. The guitars and drums make for melodic death metal, but the bass is what truly makes DAMNUM unique. The bass adds an electric feel, giving the genre of death metal a refreshed and oddly optimistic personality.
“Saturnine” is the epitome of the combination of fast-paced death metal that has a slightly optimistic personality on DAMNUM. The music itself is that of metalcore in its purest form with hard riffs and electric metal. With that metalcore center, the bass brings electricity to the song that gives “Saturnine” a slightly more optimistic tone. Even so, this optimism is not to the point where it takes away from the death metal feel.
“Blight” is another song on DAMNUM that showcases Allegaeon’s range and lightning-fast futuristic vibes. In it, the music is electric and energetic, but calms down towards the middle and comes down to earth. Just as “Blight” seems to settle down, the instrumentals start back up and shoot for the stars with more lighting-fast instrumentals.
With a futuristic and more melodic take on metal, DAMNUM is an exceptional addition to Allegaeon’s discography. DAMNUM balances the familiar with progressive techno, providing something new. McShane’s vocals nicely complement the dark and gritty tone produced by the band’s instrumentals, making the album that much bolder and that much deadlier.
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