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Album Review: Allegaeon ‘Fragments of Form and Function’

Published

14 years ago

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‘Fragments of Form and Function’ is Allegaeon’s debut full-length album. Signed to Metal Blade Records after their self 2008 EP, which just so happened to be produced by Dave Otero (Cephalic Carnage, Matriden, Cobalt), Allegaeon has put together a blistering 10-track LP that lyrically touches on stem cell research, cryonics, evolution and much more. With such deep and touchy subjects as basis for messages, Allegaeon should theoretically be able to back it up with music that is equally deep and complex. Do they manage? Check after the jump to find out. 
allegaeonfofafcover

‘Fragments of Form and Function’ beings with ‘The Cleansing’, a track that starts off with very digital sounding synths, setting a mechanical tone for the album. Quickly, it jumps into the tech/melodic death metal style that will pervade through the rest of the album. It’s a brutally fast song complete with intense blast beats, intricate riffing and guitar harmonization. If you enjoy this track, you are bound to appreciate the rest of the album. 
The production of ‘Fragments of Form and Function’ is underwhelming when using high-end headphones but sounds perfectly fine when using my Macbook Pro speakers. It’s an interesting contrast but one that makes a lot of sense: The Macbook is tailored for certain frequencies whereas my headphones don’t try to hide anything. So, if you’re using high quality headphones, here is what you can expect: Somewhat thing sounding guitars, almost no low end (I really couldn’t hear the bass at all), a marked difference in cymbal volume and the vocals sound a bit buried. However, through my laptop speakers, the production sounds very tight and convincing (sans the bass, of course). 
Some of the production aspects that stand out with headphones are the panning of the guitars and the panning of the toms. The guitar harmonizations stand out and are really a treat to hear. The toms sound huge and the fills travel from one ear to the other with such speed that it’s really fun when it happens and left me with a grin almost each time. Also, the low string droning of the 7-string guitars sounds almost mechanical. This coupled with the artwork of the album and you’ve got a good mental image of what Allegaeon was trying to convey with their music. 
I want to take a moment here to talk about the talent of these musicians. It’s easy to hear that they are all insanely talented and know how to put a song together so that it flows not only with amazing ease but also with extreme effectiveness. I also want to give a special nod to drummer Jordan Belfast: He plays with brutal speed and has extremely solid chops. However, the thing that stands out the most about his playing is his ability to know exactly when less is more. If you want to hear a great example of how clever he can be, just check out the first 30 seconds of ‘Across The Folded Line’. 
The band also likes to toy with expectations sometimes: The outro to ‘Biomech – Vals No.666’ is a very pretty, Celtic inspired nylon string melody complete with orchestral strings. This type of melody is hinted at during the song when one moment of guitar soloing sounded suspiciously like a Celtic flute or whistle. Also, the exact middle of ‘Accelerated Evolution’ breaks down into something very unexpected and almost, dare I say it, polka-esque. Trust me, it works. 
‘Fragments of Form and Function’ is an album that grew on me with each listen. The songs flow well into one another making for an easy listening experience. Just understand that this album features some incredibly intense musical assaults. Make sure you’re ready to survive the onslaught. 
4 out of 5 skulls
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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

1 week ago

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April 9, 2024

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John Carpenter music

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…

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