Allegaeon Apoptosis

On April 19th ALLEGAEON will be out-hewing their new album 'Apoptosis' via Metal Blade Records. With its almost perfect symbiosis of technical progressive and melodic death metal, the album is both overwhelmingly heavy and intelligent. It is bursting with ingenuity and marks a clear step forward in songwriting. The recordings took place at Studio Flatline Audio in Denver under producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage), who has long been familiar with the group. This fifth album is the first to feature new bassist Brandon Michael. "Musically, Brandon gives the band a whole new dimension," singer Riley McShane praises. "He has extensive expertise and, thanks to his good taste, is stylistically variable, bringing some songs to life on 'Apoptosis'." The album also includes a guest contribution by classical guitarist Christina Sandsengen, who duels with guitarist Greg Burgess in 'Colors of the Currents'. "This time I was more open to ideas we would have discarded earlier," says guitarist Michael Stancel. "Instead of not taking something because it didn't clearly sound like Allegaeon, I looked at it from a distance and wondered if it matched the song before deciding if I would keep it. This is how some of my favorite songs came about, because I was less worried about whether the music matched our previous sound." This statement can be applied to the whole album. It's the basic sound that ALLEGAEON have earned many fans over the course of their impressive careers, but it's also a new sound, with unwavering self-confidence. "Thematically this time it's about contrasts, which the music reflects perfectly", explains singer Riley McShane. "The vocals are more extreme than ever, but there are also more clean parts. The drums are faster and more dynamic, the riffs deeper and slower than on our older albums, but you also hear extended melodic, really beautiful passages again and again".