Simply put: Allegaeon manifested 10 dizzying tracks of utter brilliance; gave (further) proof the band is profusely proficient as a whole and individually; and created a Technical Melodic Death Metal album packed with so much aggression and speed, it sounds like Monster fornicated with Red Bull.
Good luck choosing a favorite song off Damnum (Metal Blade), the Colorado band’s sixth release since its inception in 2008. Front to back, the instrumentations are ferocious and the listener is battered relentlessly, even as the album becomes more chaotic and heavy with each passing second.
‘Vermin’ might be the best showcase as a whole, if I had to pick: guitarists Greg Burgess and Michael Stancel dominate and awe with their shifty soloing, and the introduction slowly but surely gains traction, one-by-one welcoming each instrument in cacophonous glory. ‘Of Beasts And Worms’ affords Riley McShane the platitude to deliver biting vocals, wonderfully contrasting in a clean chorus aided by harsh singing.
The two-parter ‘The Dopamine Void’ is a classic fire-and-ice spectacle. The first part is acoustic; the second is a certified volcano spewing hellacious Deathcore-style vocals. McShane knows no bounds and puts on a stellar showcase of clean singing on ‘Only Loss.’ Allegaeon isn’t a one-trick band, after all. They also possess quite a vocabulary on ‘To Carry My Grief Through Torpor And Silence,’ which quite possibly could be the only time “torpor” is used in a song title.
Even closer ‘Saturnine’ packs a proverbial punch. It represents a robust bookend to the opening song, ‘Bastards Of The Earth’, which itself is a proper onslaught. Jeff Saltzman holds his own at the kit, blasting away in calculated strikes and rhythmic beats.
Damnum barely lets up during its hour-plus runtime. And far from a disorganized mess of boilerplate metal, the album is a rager from the get go. The music is meticulously written and expertly performed. There isn’t a sore spot to speak of, and it only gets better with repeat listens.
Buy the album here: https://amzn.to/3BRq1cy
8 / 10
MATT COOK
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