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 | ||||
| Released | May 8, 2012[1] | |||
| Recorded | December 2011 – January 2012 | |||
| Studio | Lambesis Studios, San Diego, California | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal,[2] technical death metal | |||
| Length | 52:51 | |||
| Label | Metal Blade | |||
| Producer | Daniel Castleman | |||
| Allegaeon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Formshifter | ||||
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Release
editThe 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
editAll tracks are written by Allegaeon
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [8] |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 7/10[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- ^ "Allegaeon "Formshifter"". Metal Blade Records. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ a b c Heaney, Gregory. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Formshifter - Allegaeon|Credits|AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Formshifter - Allegaeon|Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Allegaeon "Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst" (OFFICIAL)". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Allegaeon "Behold (God I Am)" Lyric Video". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Allegaeon "A Path Disclosed"". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ a b Kapper, Andrew. "About.com Review". About.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
- ^ a b El Naby, Aly Hassab (July 10, 2012). "Chronicles of Chaos Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Allegaeon - Chart History - Top Heatseekers". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 31, 2014.