Style: Progressive death metal, melodic death metal, technical death metal (mixed vocals, mostly harsh)
Recommended for fans of: Arsis, Revocation, Obscura, Inferi, Shadow of Intent
Country: Colorado, United States
Release date: 04 April 2025
Sometimes, the best ability is dependability. A counterintuitive introduction for a band as technically able as Allegaeon, but it fits my experience. I discovered the band with their third album, Elements of the Infinite, and it clicked immediately. I quickly familiarized myself with their first two efforts—both solid—and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all three releases since. That totals six albums and a decade of fandom without disappointment. None of Allegaeon’s works have topped a year-end list of mine, but they often lurk around the top ten and garner more relistens than I care to admit—in a word, dependable.
Allegaeon mix progressive, melodic, and technical death metal in an accessible formula that’s as catchy as it is impressive. The band doesn’t shy away from hooks or streamlined song structures, but they also showcase blistering instrumental passages and have plenty of progressive epics strewn across their discography. Their latest effort, The Ossuary Lens, comes out of an unusual release cycle: following their 2022 LP, Allegaeon released a single in 2023 and announced the return of the band’s original vocalist, Ezra Haynes, who had left after Elements of the Infinite; they released a second single in 2024; then, at the start of 2025, The Ossuary Lens was announced and contained neither of the two singles. After this bit of release whiplash and a return to a familiar voice, would Allegaeon remain as dependable as always?
Through The Ossuary Lens’s incisive forty-five minutes, Allegaeon offer ten tracks that are very much, well, Allegaeon. “Imperial” nearly captures the band’s entire essence in four action-packed minutes—classical guitar gives way to heavy riffs and fiery leads; a choppy verse carries into a singable (screamable) chorus; and a bridge bounces between frenzied riffing, a chunky breakdown, and virtuosic soloing before returning to the chorus. Lead single “Driftwood” packs an accessible dose of technicality and melody while featuring predominantly clean vocals in its harmonious chorus, not previously an arrow in Haynes’ vocal quiver but a staple of the previous album. Meanwhile, “Dark Matter Dynamics,” successor to the flamenco-heavy 2016 track “Gray Matter Mechanics,” sees the return of flamenco guitar. Whereas flamenco previously felt a tad gimmicky, given its own standalone passages, this time it’s woven more naturally into a mid-paced ripper of a song.
To be sure, The Ossuary Lens exhibits some stylistic extensions: Gothenburg characteristics are more evident than ever in “Carried by Delusion” and “Wake Circling Above,” deathcore influences are turned up a notch, and the one-two punch of “Dies Irae” and “The Swarm” might be the band’s most aggressive work to date. Conversely, other features are missing, notably the overt moodiness of the preceding release Damnum and the sprawling, progressive compositions that frequently served as album closers. The latter is particularly disappointing, as Allegaeon’s epic closing tracks are some of the best in the business. But by and large, the album isn’t much more than a stone’s throw away from those that came before. The band continues to pack immense talent across all instruments into catchy yet hard-hitting tracks.
For me at least, the Allegaeon-ness of The Ossuary Lens isn’t unwelcome—I enjoy the familiarity, and just enough new elements keep it from feeling stale. If you’re new to the band, this album is a good starting point, displaying much of what the discography offers within a relatively short runtime. However, if you were hoping for a bigger evolution—whether in composition, atmosphere, or simply a shift away from the reliably brick-walled production—this one probably won’t do it for you. Allegaeon established a distinct sound in their 2010 debut and have spent the last fifteen years modulating and honing it, but never moving beyond it.
The last 600 or so words can be reduced back to one: dependable. Though slightly on the weaker side of Allegaeon releases, The Ossuary Lens is a rock-solid album that’ll spend plenty of time in my ears. This now seven-album run further solidifies Allegaeon as one of my go-to bands, and more broadly should place them as one of metal’s most consistent acts. At this point, I feel like I have a pretty good sense of what album number eight might sound like, and I’m not upset about it.
Recommended tracks: Driftwood, Dark Matter Dynamics, Wake Circling Above
You may also like: Aversed, Subterranean Lava Dragon, Last Breath, Impureza, Ouroboros
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Metal Blade Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website
Allegaeon is:
– Greg Burgess (guitars)
– Ezra Haynes (vocals)
– Michael Stancel (guitars, vocals)
– Brandon “Booboo” Michael (bass, vocals)
– Jeff Saltzman (drums)
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