Allegaeon - Damnum (2022)^{Release ID: 34640}

This is my first Allegaeon experience and it's not quite what I expected. Given Damnum's single primary genre is Technical Death Metal, I expected something akin to Gorguts or Ulcerate. What I ended up with is a fairly technical and intense Melodic Death Metal album that occasionally drifts into Opeth territory. I'm not at all opposed to the melodic side of death metal, so I've found a lot to enjoy here. The production is great and the musicianship is very good indeed (the drumming and leads are particularly strong), plus there's a whole variety of utilised vocal techniques, including excellent (not to mention easily decipherable) deep growls, screams, Soilwork-like clean choruses and even more tender Åkerfeldt-ish singing.

The album is not without it's flaws though, with the 60 minute running time being the most obvious. While it's all consistently enjoyable, the album probably just overstays it's welcome, and most tracks fail to have that X factor that would take this release into higher echelons (which I feel like this band is capable of achieving). In the end I thoroughly enjoy what I'm hearing though, and hope to check out some of their other works. A very solid four stars from me.