Allerjen

Equilibrium

Written by: PP on 24/03/2012 15:49:38

Allerjen are a small British metal band who derive their sound from a wide variety of styles of metal to arrive at a surprisingly innovative sound. "Equilibrium", their sophomore album, cannot be pigeonholed into any genre in particular because it sits perfectly at the crossroads of several styles without really leaning fully on any of them. There are moments where the band play high tempo stock metalcore riffs, but elsewhere they slow things down to a doom metal inspired crawl, only to introduce influence from progressive metal's complex structures and melodic death and black metal to complete the genre cocktail.

Best of all? It all sounds very focused and carefully thought-out instead of the bloody mess it very well could be with all those styles mingling with each other. One reason it is kept so well together is the uniform black metal inspired shriek of their lead vocalist, who admittedly doesn't vary his expression much throughout the album but provides the red thread throughout. Another reason is that every time the band is at a danger of falling into generic metalcore or melodic death metal riffs, they do a swift change in tempo or style to keep the sound consistently fresh.

But if there's one problem Allerjen are still having, it's consistency in songwriting. On one hand, they write songs like "The Process Of Being", which showcases a band comparable to the international elite with its lingering build up followed by a stunning release during every chorus, one of the most melodically pleasing and original sequences I've heard in heavy music in recent memory. "Achieving Equilibrium" and "Treachery Be Thy Name" are also almost as good, but already here it becomes clear that the band falls short from the 10/10 melody found on "The Process of Being", and it doesn't get any easier as we progress throughout the album. If anything, though, the track indicates that Allerjen have tremendous potential. And indeed, the lingering melody is used sparingly in other spots on the album as well, but it is neither as effective nor as memorable as in the first example. So now they just need to learn how to use their subtle melodies to better their songs overall, but even so, "Equilibrium" is a solid example of what they are capable of and should earn the band a legion of new fans as more people get to hear the record.

7

Download: The Process of Being, Achieving Equilibrium
For the fans of: metalcore meets melodeath meets black/prog metal
Listen: YouTube

Release date 20.02.2012
Brutal Elite / PHD

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