There’s been a change at Allegaeon.
After seven years of loyal service, Greg Burgess (guitar, Nuclear Power Trio), Michael Stancel (guitar, Harboured), Brandon “Booboo” Michael (bass, Harboured) and Jeff Saltzman (drums, Aversed, Unflesh, ex-Solium Fatalis) said goodbye to Riley McShane (vocals, Virulent Depravity, ex-Pathology) to welcome back Ezra Haynes (vocals, ex-Skinned) and create The Ossuary Lens, their seventh album, with the help of Jesse Zuretti (orchestrations, Daath, Binary Code).
The album gets off to a gentle start with Refraction, a fairly calm introduction that leads naturally into the furious Chaos Theory, where jerky rhythm and hellish leads are skilfully blended before reaching the vocal parts. Ezra‘s roars combined with the band’s devastating riffs are perfect for breaking our necks, but the band also knows how to move towards more aerial moments like the break before returning to their initial rage and then pausing with the introduction of Driftwood. The track doesn’t surprise with its omnipresent violence, but with its clear vocals on the chorus, contrasting with the heaviness of the instrumental and its dissonant melodies, which are complemented by majestic orchestrations on Dies Irae. The two universes work very well together, and the aggressive riffing is perfectly mastered to offer more Progressive Death-oriented touches before setting off again on the frantic The Swarm, where the musicians don’t hesitate to increase the bpm to create a real surge. The track is undoubtedly one of the band’s most violent, and even when you think the carnage is over, it picks up again before gradually disappearing to make way for Carried by Delusion, where the short introduction allows us to catch our breath and endure this new wave of violence tinged with airy melodies. The mix is once again incredibly effective, but eventually gives way to Dark Matter Dynamics where the band is joined by Adrian Bellue on acoustic guitar, a guest who fits in perfectly with the musicians’ technical yet highly harmonious style. Once the hurricane has passed, Imperial takes over with relatively ominous tones, then furious and jerky again, allowing themselves more accessible passages before returning to heavier keys with Wake Circling Above, where harmonics and suffocating atmosphere are skilfully blended. Screams and clean vocals also take turns throughout the composition, which evolves at its own pace, before Scythe transports us with its very soothing opening before blazing up and molesting us like the previous tracks with solid riffs and scathing leads under the roars before coming to a definitive end.
When the return of their former vocalist was announced, I immediately knew that Allegaeon would be able to bounce back from the line-up change, but I didn’t think it would be this qualitative! The Ossuary Lens is undoubtedly in line with the band’s previous albums, which are all excellent in every respect: technique, violence, melodies…
95/100