Written by:	D.T. Metal
Published:	May 28, 2012
Galleries:	Allegaeon at the Marquis Theater in Denver, 17th May 2012 by D.T. Metal (16)

Allegaeon just celebrated the release of their newest album Formshifter with a show at the Marquis Theater in Denver, CO this past week.

According to our own Metal Storm stats (as of today), their debut album Fragments Of Form And Function was ranked No. 2 in the Top 20 albums of 2010 category and Formshifter already made it to No. 5 for the year 2012.

I believe it was in May 2006 when Nevermore played a gig in town and this dude I meet a couple weeks earlier also came to the show. He told me that he and his buddy Ryan are in a band named Allegiance. Fast forward to May 2012 and the dude (bassist Aaron Donoho) I talked to 6 years earlier unfortunately is no longer playing with them and the band had changed their name to Allegaeon. So somewhere in between those years that little local band out of Fort Collins, CO became a Metal Blade recording artist and let me tell you this: they indisputably deserve it.

I was looking forward to checking out their new tunes and since the band really hadn't played any gigs for some time I made my way up to Denver for their CD-release show. It was a Thursday night and I didn't know how many people would show up, but once it was all set and done around 150 metal heads had filled the venue. I also have to add that local openers Dissonance In Design, Nutricula and Cryogen put down an awesome performance that night and really got the crowd warmed up for the headliner. You might want to check out their social networking sites; some pretty good talent there.

Allegaeon started their set with "Behold (God I Am)" and immediately followed with "Tartessos: The Hidden Xencryst", both off their new album. Since Formshifter had been out for two weeks the crowd already knew the songs and were air-guitaring and hmmm, singing along. Vocalist Ezra Haynes nailed it on the latter and it was also great to witness the dual guitar slinging by Ryan Glisan and Greg Burgess. It is always nice to see, and hear for that matter, how guitarists are the masters of their 8-strings, beautiful!



They played a couple songs from Fragments Of Form And Function before unleashing another new song, "Iconic Images" which has some really sick riffing in it. Well shit, the entire new album is filled with extreme riffing to say the least, and drumming. Unfortunately the dude who recorded their latest album was not behind the kit, but the band found in Jeremy Portz a well worthy replacement. No clue if he will be a permanent member or just session but the man is just sick on drums.

Corey Archuleta who has been with Allegaeon for a while now was no small change either. I am a sucker for bassists who plug with their fingers and don't use a pick when playing live, so it was a pleasure watching Corey that night.

Their set was emphasizing on the new release but the band managed to play some older stuff as well, with "Cower Before Me" from their self titled 2008 EP being a big surprise to all in attendance. While there were mosh pits during most of their set, folks really seem to dig this song. Some just stood there with fists in the air, singing along with Ezra before heading back into the whirlwind of the pit.

I really dig their new album but "Tartessos: The Hidden Xencryst" and "From The Stars Death Came" were definitely the highlights for me that evening. Those songs might be a bit more melodic but make no mistake, they contain some extremely technical aspects as well. I personally don't agree with the moniker "melodic death metal" even though some of Allegaeon's songs do remind me of In Flames maybe? The guys found their own niche of metal, be it extreme, death or melodic sounding and I see a bright future ahead of them. And folks in Northern California will have a chance to check them out live since Allegaeon is slated to headline this years Bay Area Metal Festival which will take place July 28th 2012 at the Metro in Oakland, CA.



There are probably more bands in Colorado who kick just as much ass as Allegaeon, but other than Havok and Cephalic Carnage none come to mind that have such an international following. So to sum it up, Allegaeon is well on their way to becoming another musical flagship representing The Centennial State.

Set-list for the show: "Behold (God I Am)", "Tartessos: The Hidden Xencryst", "Across the Folded Line", "The God Particle", "Iconic Images", "Biomech - Vals. No 666", "A Path Disclosed", "Twelve", "From The Stars Death Came", "Cower Before Me" and "Accelerated Evolution"

Head on over to the Picture Gallery for some more visuals.