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Allegaeon > Formshifter > Reviews
Allegaeon - Formshifter

Underrated - every bit as good as the other stuff - 95%

PorcupineOfDoom, March 22nd, 2015

To be honest I'm surprised that this album has so many negative reviews. Maybe a 75% average doesn't sound that bad, but this album is far above a score like that. Like, way above that. I'd say that this album is actually on a par with their newest release, the excellent Elements of the Infinite, and considering that I gave that album a score of 95% that shouldn't be taken lightly.

First off, the twin guitars that duel each other throughout. They're just awesome and they do so many great things across this whole record. The riffing is powerful and definitely worth a listen for anyone that likes death metal of any kind, but the leads are what really set the band apart from anyone else I've heard. Around every corner just as the band seem to be settling into a repetitive groove the feeling is revived by some kind of melody, whether that means everything else stopping to allow an emotive section to play lightly or a squealing solo to rampage over the top of the crunching riffs, something always comes in to save the day. Everything is just timed to perfection by the band here, and it is beautifully orchestrated.

The drumming is also great, although compared with the level of drumming on Elements of the Infinite it actually isn't anything special. That being said, it's still of a level that many would envy. The pace doesn't change too much, but the stuff on offer comes in at a level of not too fast but not too slow which not many people can actually get right. Still fairly impressive, even if Brandon Park does a better job.

The bass is audible, although not to the extremes that I've heard it. I suppose that it'd be more impressive if I hadn't heard The Cadaverous Retaliation Agenda by The Project Hate (the bass there is godly), but even so I can appreciate that the bass is played decently well. It mixes well with the guitars, which I guess is its job, and it keeps the rhythm going even with both guitars throwing hooks around all over the place.

The vocals aren't a particular high point, but I feel that they work well on this album and fit the music very well. Maybe some cleans could have been mixed in with the growls, but I'm fine with the music the way that it is. He's not bad at his job as such, but I wish that he'd do something more creative every now and again, just to match what everyone else is doing.

Overall I'd say that the band has done a sterling job here and I enjoyed every minute of this album. Personally I can't find what it is that's being criticised so severely, and I was left sad when the album was done because I wanted it to last longer. If you haven't heard it already I'd definitely recommend that you right that wrong.

Lacking satisfaction - 63%

Andromeda_Unchained, August 17th, 2012

The second full-length from US technical metallers Allegaeon plays as ear candy to those who enjoy this technical style of melodic death metal, and stands as kryptonite to those who can't stand it. The band's sound is an amalgamation of modern extreme metal conventions and similarities to Scar Symmetry, Arsis or the down-tuned chug of anything Jeff Loomis has touched in the last few years abound.

The performances are clearly good, but the music itself lacks any type of soul or substance. Production is clean as a whistle, and the album largely feels like nearly fifty-three minutes of showboating. The band likely conceived the material with thoughts along the lines of: "Let's make this part here sound like Meshuggah" or "This song only has one guitar solo, but our guitarists are really good, so we should throw a few more in for good measure; make sure there's a good solid block of sweep picking in for good measure too".

I'll be the first to admit I enjoy this style of music when done well, but Allegaeon don't really bring anything new to the table. They've picked their chosen delights from the smorgasbord of technical metal conventions, and they've arranged them into a package that is destined to do well amongst fans of this type of style. As such, anyone whose musical taste starts at Necrophagist and ends with Nevermore are going to love Formshifter. There are some good numbers like the Scar Symmetry-on-steroids approach of "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst" or the blasting madness contained in "From the Stars Death Came" and those tracks would be good starting points for those curious.

For the most part though, Formshifter leaves me cold. The band throw a lot over to the listener, and it's pretty easily digestible; however just like after eating a Big Mac, I find myself staring at the dent in my wallet, still hungry and looking for the next meal. A solid purchase for fans of the style, especially those who crave flamboyant musicianship, but for anyone else this is a passing curiosity at best.

Originally written for

  • http://www.metalcrypt.com
  • Allegaeon - Formshifter - 80%

    Odovacar, June 18th, 2012

    The sophomore release, Formshifter, from Allegaeon refines and polishes what they had established with their debut on Fragments of Form and Function – tight, technical, groove and hook-laden riffs with catchy choruses and blazing shredding all along the fretboard and deep, commanding death growls. Unlike a lot of other technical death metal bands, that like to eschew the traditional song structure, Allegaeon embraces a more metal traditional verse-solo-chorus-verse-solo-solo song structure on this album. They manage to pack a white dwarf star’s worth of riffs and solos across ten tracks that can leave you exhausted from the sheer brutality and virtuosity that is happening on the album.

    The first track, “Behold (God I Am)” starts off with a calm and relaxed clean guitar and bass part with a slow melodic lead before punching you in the face with some Fleshgod Apocalypse-inspired riffing and drumming –from session drummer JP Andrade. Granted there is no bombastic use of orchestral samples, yet Allegaeon makes up for it with meretricious leads that would be welcomed on an Arsis album. The dual guitars of Ryan Glisan and Greg Burgess keep the pace with some groove-Psycroptic style riffs throughout the verses. The song takes a little detour near the end with a fist-pumping, gang-chanted anthem that is closed out by a fading melody.

    The riffs just keep on coming with “The Azrael Trigger”, “Timeline Dissonance”, “From the Stars Come Death”, and “Iconic Images” which has a fantastic Nevermore-inspired main riff, and a blazing scalar lead before going into the verse. The chorus is filled with a sick descending lead riff against a catchy chorus from Ezra Haynes. An old-school death metal breakdown slams through the song before going into more blazing leads and reprising the chorus. “Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst” jumps right out of the gate with a driving, groove-pummeling riff that is backed by a deliciously sweep picked melody during the verse. This song – pretty much all of the songs really – is drenched with more liquid smooth leads. Haynes belts out a solid and memorable account of the mythical city Atlantis during the chorus. Even though “Tartessos” clocks in at less than five minutes and has some fantastic moments, the song quickly makes itself repetitious with the constant florid soloing.

    This is especially apparent on “Twelve – Vals for the Legions”, which dishes out more groove-technical riffs that serve as the backbone for the soaring, melodic, virtuosic leads. This seven minute epic does overstay its welcome somewhat within a few minutes, however, it is broken up with a breakdown backed by Spanish-style, finger-picked acoustic guitars (which is honestly something I’ve never heard before and it does sound pretty awesome), from classically trained guitarist Burgess. The acoustic guitars make an unexpected, although quite welcomed reprise after more sensational leads to close out the remainder three minutes of the song.

    The beautiful classical inspired acoustic break would have done well as a standalone track, especially given that the metal just stops to let this piece shine through. This type of experimentation is sprinkled throughout the album, such as the progressive – almost Human Abstract-style intro to “A Path Disclosed”; the short dirty motif mixed in with the slam-breakdown toward the end of the title track, and an acoustic intro and a cool little bass break (courtesy of Corey Archuleta) about three and a half minutes in the final track, “Secrets of the Sequence”. I love brutal, intense music but it does fatigue the ears and mind when being assaulted by it constantly will little else to break it up; it should be more of a short, intense pummeling rather than a drawn out exercise on a speed bag.

    Despite some of the repetitious nature of Formshifter, this is an album that stands strong with the rest of the technical death metal giants like Obscura, Nile, Dying Fetus, The Faceless, and Gorod. Anyone looking for solid technical death metal but would like a little bit more groove, a little bit more of sing-along-growled choruses, and a lot of groove-technical riffs and an insane amount of soloing; then you can do no wrong with Allegaeon’s new album.

    Originally written for Teeth of the Divine

    metal-army.com - 60%

    RidgeDeadite, May 28th, 2012

    The metal section of Allegaeon’s metalcore genre alignment has been turned up with their newest album Formshifter. With a somber opening with the first track “Behold (God I Am),” the volume turns up with riffs that are a hybrid of thrash and metalcore. The drums provide the groundwork while the guitars are free to roam as they please. The riffs are either chunky buzzsaws or highly unimaginative noodling that just don’t sound like they have anything to do with the actual song. And opening an album with the longest track (over seven minutes long to be exact), can turn off people who wanted to give them a try.

    If there was to be a choice over which song should open the album that pretty much sums it all up, it would be “A Path Disclosed.” It’s a bit faster than the other tracks, but it’s pretty generic by metalcore terms. The vocals are the only thing that makes this track stand apart from other bands. They’re a little on the high pitched side while slightly menacing. Then there is about 3 different solos at the end that are pretty decent, but doesn’t save this track.

    If there was to be one track that sounds the most different (which is a daunting task to determine), it would be “Iconic Images.” It’s the only track that has more variation in the structure, but only by a short call. But for the most part, it’s just more of the same guitar noodling that forms in and out of solos while the drums contain the melody of the song.

    The main fault of this entire album is that every track sounds like each other. None of them really take you by surprise or stand out. Allegaeon rehashes riffs and drum sections over and over while writing new vocals over everything. One thing that can be said here is that it’s still much better than their debut album. Compared to that, this is 100% better. The debut was just generic metalcore with even less imagination than this album.

    Technical Masterpiece - 90%

    CowardKiller, May 9th, 2012

    Waiting up until the album went on sale on Itunes was worth the wait. As always, I am thrilled with Allegaeon. Fragments of Form and Function (their previous release) was amazing and left a great taste in my mouth. Nothing was lost, to say the least.

    The album starts strong with "Behold (God I Am)". The acoustic intro is in great taste and goes into a heavy melodic, Iron Maiden-sounding guitar riff. It blends the previously mentioned harmony with shredding metal. A seamless transition into the main song and they're off.

    "Tartessos", the first single from the album, is next and shreds in a technical manner that would make any metal fan feel that kick in the stomach that has been missed. Another great song from Formshifter is "Iconic Images", the fourth song on the album. The combination of great drumming and phenomenal riffage really separates itself from the rest of the album. And not to mention the vocalist, Ezra Haynes, who complements the music wonderfully while also taking the reigns of the song.

    A truly heavy album with something for almost all metal fans, from shredding solos to killer drums, great rhythm between guitar and bass and, of course, the aforementioned Ezra Haynes who dominates this album. I would highly recommend it to all.