01. Refraction02. Chaos Theory03. Driftwood04. Dies Irae05. The Swarm06. Carried by Delusion07. Dark Matter Dynamics (feat. Adrian Bellue)08. Imperial09. Wake Circling Above10. ScytheThere are few bands in extreme metal that command as much respect and admiration as ALLEGAEON. Formed by guitarist Greg Burgess in 2008, the Colorado technical/melodic death metal stalwarts have released so many great albums over the years that it almost seems unfair. Fervently progressive but always exhilaratingly extreme, ALLEGAEON have never enjoyed the commercial breakthrough that their pointedly uncommercial music demands. “The Ossuary Lens” is unlikely to break that trend, and fans should be reassured by Burgess and his band’s current lineup, which has not let the supreme quality of their music drop one iota since the release of their last album, the critically lauded “Damnum” (2022). Preceded by two stand-alone singles (“Inhumation” and “Iridescent”) that were as tantalizing as they were technically and sonically immaculate, the band’s seventh full-length is simply one of 2025’s most keenly anticipated metal releases. ALLEGAEON have been consistently brilliant throughout their career to date, and any band that can produce inspired covers of YES and RUSH classics without breaking their stride deserves some kind of trophy for that alone. Their version of YES’s “Roundabout”, for instance, is utterly jaw-dropping.Likewise, “The Ossuary Lens” is an astonishing piece of work. ALLEGAEON have become more adventurous over the years. Each successive album has been more melodic and more progressive than the last, but the essential brutality that drives the band’s trademark sound has never diminished. As a result, irrespective of lineup changes, ALLEGAEON increasingly sound like the ultimate modern extreme metal band. After a gentle intro, “Chaos Theory” hammers home everything that has always been great about them: the savage riffs, the spotless technicality, the mature and sophisticated melodies, and the unavoidable reality that this is a ferociously intelligent band with a broad musical philosophy that just happens to have found its home in death metal. Original vocalist Ezra Haynes returns here, his barbaric roar the perfect counterpart to Burgess and co-guitarist Michael Stancel’s endlessly inventive guitar work. So it makes sense that “The Ossuary Lens” is the most aggressive album ALLEGAEON have made since their early days, albeit with all the same highly evolved twists and turns that have become integral to their sound in recent years. Songs like “Driftwood” and “Carried By Delusion” strike such a great balance between melo-death fury and prog metal ingenuity that “The Ossuary Lens” frequently sounds like a challenge to everyone else. If any of the Coloradans’ peers can match the likes of “Dies Irae” and “Imperial” for sheer technicality, melodic incisiveness or sheer, honest-to-goodness extremity, then please don’t keep it quiet. [embedded content]ALLEGAEON are at their most unapologetically vicious on “The Swarm”, a flat-out death metal burner that doubles as a breathless display of technical prowess, and that gently fades out, presumably to protect people from headbanging themselves into the grave. At the other end of the stylistic scale, “Dark Matter Dynamics” (featuring miraculous acoustic guitar work from maverick guitarist Adrian Bellue) is progressive death metal at its most fluid and fiery, while “Wake Circling Above” is impossibly grand and heroically inventive, Haynes’s vitriolic bark contrasting beautifully with a dense mesh of melodic ideas. Ultimately, some bands are better than others. ALLEGAEON have set their standards so high that anything less than a masterpiece would leave fans feeling cheated. There are no such concerns here. “The Ossuary Lens” is fucking amazing. [embedded content]