I feel it’s safe to say that just about everyone who was listening to Allegaeon back when they released “Proponent for Sentience” felt that it was a monumental achievement that was a real landmark album for both the band itself as well as the modern state of technical death metal, progressive death metal, or whatever else you want to fucking call it. It’s an album that still stands as the top bar for the style for me, and I went into “Apoptosis” feeling that Allegaeon was going to top it but in a different way as I felt they’d approach this record different after a slight line-up change. As it happens, the sound did change by not a lot, but it feels so incredibly fresh and just as satisfying as ever!

It was with the previous record that we got crazy experimentation in different sounds, a rough concept album, and an execution that was nigh-on masterful as Allegaeon showed us from track after track just how adept they are at their sound. With a toned down approach to the sonic exploration and increasing the heaviness in plenty of areas, particularly with the vocals, while also knowing perfect places for a bit of restraint, also with the vocals, that create a great, well-rounded sound that really allows “Apoptosis” to live and breathe as its own creation with utmost ease. It’s in each track of this record that we still see that unparalleled level of instrumental prowess coupled with ever-deadly vocals but it’s with the heaviness that we see Allegaeon in a new light as they sound much more crushing and more unforgiving than they ever have before, yet, as always, there’s so much to sift through as “Apoptosis” is a record that’s far from shallow. At each turn, we get bits and pieces of classic Allegaeon paired phenomenally with flavors of new elements that are neither imbalanced or underutilized to make for a listen that, as I said, is familiar for those of us who’ve heard Allegaeon, but they’re far from the same band with growth being all but obvious with each minute of “Apoptosis” bringing something new to the table to digest.

In no small way, Allegaeon has clearly made an excellent step in their on-going evolution as a band that will continue to be one of the modern leaders of the style, and it’s not hard to see why that will remain the case. “Apoptosis” is a force to really be reckoned with and one that’s sure to become yet another fan favorite for a band that can seemingly do no wrong at the moment.

“Apoptosis” releases on April 19th via Metal Blade Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Apoptosis” on Bandcamp here.

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