Revitalised and rejuvenated by the homecoming of original frontman Ezra Haynes, Colorado Tech Death act Allegaeon return with its seventh full-length studio release The Ossuary Lens (Metal Blade Records). Since Haynes’s return at the back end of ’22, the quintet has already teased fans with two singles before finally unveiling what everyone has really been waiting for.
Although not a concept album in its truest sense, The Ossuary Lens chooses death as the primary focus of its attention. Each song a different representation of the subject, even the title (for those of you too lazy to Google it, an ossuary is a receptacle or building such as an urn or vault designed to hold the bones of the dead) cleverly explains the essence of the record, binding everything together as an exploration of the end.
The band’s self-styled form of “Melotech” doesn’t take long to make an appearance, only the slightly foreboding acoustic intro ‘Refraction’ standing between you and the melodic technical death metal heaven of “Chaos Theory.” After blasting off with a suitably crushing opening riff, it’s already clear that Haynes’s vocals are just as gravelly as ever.
A languid opening precedes the complex time signatures and drum patterns of “Driftwood.” Layered vocals and a surging, cleanly sung chorus are enhanced by expert guitar solos with more than a hint of Steve Vai. “Dies Irae” propels itself out of the blocks with speed and intricate brutality while “The Swarm” is an epileptic nightmare of flashing lights and off-kilter rhythms with the ability to upset the equilibrium when played at a high enough volume.
After the opening interplay between intricate acoustic guitar and hefty chugs, “Carried by Delusion” dive-bombs into a seething morass of violent, convulsive rhythms not altogether dissimilar to early In Flames at certain points. Bassist Brandon Michael really gets to strut his stuff here, as once again, does the phenomenal pairing of axemen Greg Burgess and Michael Stancel.
The simply magnificent “Dark Matter Dynamics” features the fretboard wizardry of acoustic guitar virtuoso Adrian Bellew and easily stands out as one of the technical highlights on an already spellbinding record. Seriously, if you’re learning to play guitar and are frightened of being put off by people who make the impossible sound easy then it’s probably best to just stay the fuck away from this one. “Imperial” follows, occasionally appearing moments away from collapsing under the sheer weight of itself but never does.
Slower riffs dominate the first part of seven seven-minute colossus “Wake Circling Above,” drummer Jeff Saltzman continuing his mission to become an octopus as the song switches through the gears. More fretboard hocus-pocus and another round of clean vocals follow, Haynes’s voice rich and clear, soaring above the highly organized chaos below. Haynes again steals the show on the first part of closer “Scythe” before the ensemble hit the button marked “total fucking chaos” and go completely over the edge, ending the record with an abundance of slicing riffs and ragged snarls.
It would have been easy for Allegaeon to simply hit the reset button on The Ossuary Lens but while there are obvious callbacks, this isn’t merely a return to the old days. An air of familiarity still exists but a clear continuance of growth is also apparent. Chaos. Progression. Development. Adaptation. Seven albums in, and with a clear intolerance for inertia, it’s great that it feels like we’re still only exploring the tip of the iceberg.
Buy the album here:
https://www.metalblade.com/allegaeon/
9 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
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