Formshifter is the second studio album by American death metal band Allegaeon. The album was released on May 8, 2012 through Metal Blade Records. As the band did not employ a drummer during the album's production, all drum parts were handled by session musician J. P. Andrande.[3] The album charted at no. 29 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[4]

Formshifter
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 8, 2012[1]
RecordedDecember 2011 – January 2012
StudioLambesis Studios, San Diego, California
GenreMelodic death metal,[2] technical death metal
Length52:51
LabelMetal Blade
ProducerDaniel Castleman
Allegaeon chronology
Fragments of Form and Function
(2010)
Formshifter
(2012)
Elements of the Infinite
(2014)
Singles from Formshifter
  1. "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst"
    Released: February 21, 2012
  2. "Behold (God I Am)"
    Released: May 7, 2012
  3. "A Path Disclosed"
    Released: August 31, 2012

Release

edit

The first song to be released from the album was "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst". The song's official video was uploaded to Metal Blade's YouTube channel on February 21, 2012.[5] "Behold (God I Am)" was the second song to be released, with its lyric video premiering on May 7.[6] The album was released the next day, on May 8. A music video was released on August 31 for the song "A Path Disclosed".[7]

Track listing

edit

All tracks are written by Allegaeon

No.TitleLength
1."Behold (God I Am)"7:18
2."Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst"4:23
3."A Path Disclosed"4:29
4."Iconic Images"4:24
5."Twelve-vals for the Legions"7:11
6."The Azrael Trigger"5:00
7."From the Stars Death Came"5:25
8."Timeline Dissonance"3:21
9."Formshifter"5:18
10."Secrets of the Sequence"6:02
Total length:52:51

Reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com     [8]
AllMusic     [2]
Chronicles of Chaos7/10[9]

Upon its release, Formshifter has received generally positive reviews.

About.com reviewer Andrew Kapper gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying "there is never a flat moment on the LP" and commending Ezra Haynes's vocals along with the guitar work.[8] AllMusic reviewer Gregory Heaney gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, comparing the album to At the Gates and Arch Enemy and calling the album a "nonstop riff-fest".[2] Chronicles of Chaos gave the album a 7 out of 10 and said the album's tracks increase in terms of quality, making the first three tracks "seem like a year old inconvenience".[9]

Personnel

edit
  • Ezra Haynes – lead vocals
  • Greg Burgess – lead guitar, classical guitar
  • Ryan Glisan – rhythm guitar
  • Corey Archuleta – bass, backing vocals
  • J.P. Andrande – drums
Additional personnel
  • Daniel Castleman – Engineer, mastering, mixing
  • Elmo Arteaga – Assistant engineer
  • Collin Marks – Artwork
  • Donovan Roubsouay – photography
  • Brian J. Ames – layout

Charts

edit
Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Heatseekers 29[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Allegaeon "Formshifter"". Metal Blade Records. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Heaney, Gregory. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  3. ^ "Formshifter - Allegaeon|Credits|AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  4. ^ "Formshifter - Allegaeon|Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  5. ^ "Allegaeon "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst" (OFFICIAL)". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "Allegaeon "Behold (God I Am)" Lyric Video". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  7. ^ "Allegaeon "A Path Disclosed"". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Kapper, Andrew. "About.com Review". About.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  9. ^ a b El Naby, Aly Hassab (July 10, 2012). "Chronicles of Chaos Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  10. ^ "Allegaeon - Chart History - Top Heatseekers". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 31, 2014.