Allegaeon is a five piece (currently four, while they seek a new drummer) melodic/technical death metal band from Denver/Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2008, they put out their first release, a self-titled EP and just one year down the road, they were picked up by Metal Blade Records. Despite being signed to Metal Blade, they remained an underground band that was unknown to many metal heads. That is, until the release of their debut full-length titled “Fragments of Form and Function”. Fragments of Form and Function received critical acclaim and helped establish Allegaeon as a respected death metal band. Allegaeon’s newest album, Formshifter, is set to release on May 8th via Metal Blade Records. It was recorded by Daniel Castleman in Southern California at the renowned Lambesis Studios. Formshifter will almost certainly catapult this band to the forefront of their scene. Ezra Haynes, the vocalist, executes his powerful death metal vocals extremely well over the course of the album. Lyrically, Ezra speaks about serial killers and the stupidity/unfairness of the judicial system, controlled media, philosophy, space, and an ancient civilization (Atlantis). The guitarists of Allegaeon, Greg Burgess and Ryan Glisan, display a serious amount of skill and technique on Formshifter. The guitar solos and melodies are captivating and the riffs are very technical and groovy (at times). Even the sparse chugging is executed very well. My favourite part is that Greg and Ryan incorporated a few classical guitar interludes into two of the songs (Twelve and Secrets of the Sequence) and they fit perfectly with the overall theme of the album. The bass on Formshifter is not very noticeable, but that may be because I’m a guitarist and the guitar is what usually stands out to me the most. However, there is one track where the bassist, Corey Archuleta, makes sure that he is heard by everyone. “A Path Disclosed” features a mini bass solo at the start of the song and has a few breaks throughout that really accentuate the bass parts. Last but not least, we come to the drumming. As I mentioned earlier on in my review, they are seeking a new drummer to fill the void of their previous drummer. I’m not sure who the man on the kit was, but hopefully when they get their new drummer, he will be even half as skilled as the nameless beast that took care of the drumming on Formshifter. Although Formshifter is a very lengthy album, it had my full attention for the entire 53 minute duration and not once did I skip any part of any song. There isn’t one song that is weak, and with that being said, if you only have the time to listen to one or a few songs, I suggest “Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst”, “Twelve”, “From The Stars Death Came”, and/or “Secrets Of The Sequence”. 
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