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Formshifter

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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

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]

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

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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.