Allegaeon

For technical death metal band Allegaeon, sitting still is not an option. The Fort Collins, CO group has never allowed itself to stagnate, preferring to thrive on chaos, change and evolution. Their latest full-length offering, The Ossuary Lens, is their seventh but, importantly, it's the first with original vocalist Ezra Haynes since his 2015 departure following the Elements of the Infinite album. Replacing a singer is no easy task, so the fact that Haynes was in a place to rejoin is something to celebrate.

The cleaner vocal approach on the last three albums was a fascinating artistic maneuver, one that refreshed Allegaeon, but it's undeniably thrilling to hear Haynes' graveled larynx back in the fold on this inarguably brutal and technically dazzling slab of work. The science-based lyrics are as challenging as the progressive musicianship, resulting in a set of songs that simply slay. It's a sound that Haynes himself refers to as "melotech" (melodic, technical death metal).

"I think in the beginning we were a little more stripped down," adds Burgess. "Very guitar-forward, focused melodeath. Over time, I think more technical, symphonic and progressive elements creeped in. Finally, where we are today is all of that combined, added with more ambient elements."

While not a concept album in the traditional sense, there is an overarching theme to the new album - The Ossuary Lens is a representation of several different viewpoints of death.

"Each song essentially is a different topic, however there is always a different perspective of death tied to each subject," says Haynes. "Since the entire album revolves around this overarching theme of death, and the different viewpoints associated with it, we found ourselves very attached to the word 'Ossuary,' and since the album takes look at death through different points of view, we found The Ossuary Lens to be very fitting for the album title."

As has been the case with much of the Allegaeon catalog to date, The Ossuary Lens was written while the members were embarking on a productive writing retreat.

"Typically, Mike (Stancel), Greg (Burgess), and Brandon (Michael) will write the music from the comfort of their own home," says Haynes. "They'll demo it out and upload it to our cloud. From there, prior to meeting with our producer/engineer Dave Otero, we'll have what we call a 'writing retreat.' There, the boys and myself will tear up the songs for about a week, rearrange them and make any changes that we think will increase the quality of the material. After the writing retreat is when I start to get my hands dirty and dive into writing the lyrics for the album."

The album was, lyrically, largely written by Haynes with some occasional input from his bandmates.

"We touched on some classic Allegaeon science-related topics, such as chaos theory and dark matter, while also strumming the chords of more introspective topics such as alcoholism, relationships, perseverance, etc," says Haynes.

The Ossuary Lens was recorded with producer Dave Otero at Flatline Audio studio in Denver, CO. It marks the sixth album recorded with Otero.

"He's our guy and we couldn't imagine working with anyone else at the moment," says Haynes.

"We have worked with Dave Otero at Flatline Audio since the beginning of our career," adds Burgess. "So 17 years now. Dave always provides a comfortable working environment, amazing ideas, and a career-spanning understanding of what has made Allegaeon, Allegaeon."

The proof is in the pudding; the sound on The Ossuary Lens pummels the listener, though the ferocity is balanced by the overt melodies. Otero does wonders with the songs that are written on the retreat and then demoed.

"What we'll do is bring the demos that we've worked on to Dave and go through another session of tearing up the songs and getting those listening reps in prior to recording," says Haynes. "That way, Mr. Otero and all of us have a great understanding of what the songs will sound like. This time it took about three days of this before actually recording. After that, we started with drums, then guitar, bass, and vocals."

"Everyone goes in and does their parts separately," adds Burgess. "This album we actually did things in interesting orders to accommodate everyone's schedules and when we could get Adrian [Bellue, acoustic guitar] in."

As far as Allegaeon is concerned, The Ossuary Lens is the most triumphant and cohesive body of work that they've ever laid down.

"With the additional attention coming from the writing retreat, as well as the sessions we had with Dave Otero prior to recording, it really gave this product the attention it deserved from every member and the group as a whole," says Haynes. "The Ossuary Lens is easily the best Allegaeon album to date."

Burgess agrees, stating that The Ossuary Lens is his favorite Allegaeon record since 2016's Proponent for Sentience.

"For me it feels like a coming home of sorts," the guitarist says. "Ezra coming back played a big part in that. The working environment was really nice and collaborative. No drama, we just focused on the music."

It shows. The Ossuary Lens is an accomplished album that sees a rejuvenated band at the peak of its powers. Allegaeon will spend the rest of the year preparing and releasing singles and videos, before embarking on a headline tour and a couple of support slots.

World domination awaits!