ALLEGAEON :
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.
GOROD :
ABYSMAL DAWN :
During the height of the worldwide apocalyptic dystopia of 2020, Abysmal Dawn persevered and released one of the greatest albums of their career, Phylogenesis.
In 2022, the technical death metal icons picked up where they left off and unleashed the harrowing four-song Nightmare Frontier. The EP includes an original track, a newly re-recorded version of the 2006 demo “Blacken the Sky”, and two epic cover songs that showcase the band’s musical versatility and limitless talent.
