Colorado metal force ALLEGAEON return with their sixth studio album, “Damnum”, set for release on February 25th, 2022 via Metal Blade Records. Ahead of their anticipated release the band has delivered the next video from the album, the visually haunting and captivating “Of Beasts And Worms.” Accompanying the track, the band shares details behind the video, track listing and additional tour dates. Album and merch pre-orders are available now HERE and the video for the single can be watched below.
“This is the place where I rest my bones and the river that cleanses me runs alone!” cries front-man Riley McShane on the track. “This song is about finding a place of inner quiet, a safe haven to explore your thoughts and escape from the anxieties of your life,” the vocalist explains. “This lyrical intention is paired with a depiction of disparity and tiredness with the world around you and the stressors that contribute to the deafening silence of the mundane. In the music video, we showcase a more physical – and graphic – display of this thought process where the escape from the daily grind is manifested into a willing self-sacrifice. Though a dramatization, this concept of sacrifice to find your own personal peace can be applied to something less tangible and played an important role in my own process while writing the lyrics for DAMNUM. Thank you for watching and listening, we hope you enjoy it.”
ALLEGAEON have built themselves a unique place in the musical landscape, forcing both technicality and melody to the forefront as they create tumultuous and riveting death metal. With “Damnum”, their sixth full-length, they push everything further into the extreme, and in the process deliver the definitive ALLEGAEON record.
For McShane, centering his lyrics on processing sadness, anger, grief, and loneliness, his intention is that some people might take solace in the words and use them as a resource to cope with their own experiences. “My hope with these lyrics is to have them be relatable to listeners and show them that they’re not alone when they’re experiencing the gamut of negative emotions – someone else is out there feeling the same way.”
Helping to bring the record to life is new drummer Jeff Saltzman, as guitarist Greg Burgess admits, “This is really the first record where the drummer has written all their parts, instead of us guitar players programming a beat and having our drummer just write the fills,” and adds McShane, “pairing him with our bass player Brandon Michael, we have a rhythm section that can keep up with the level of musicality and proficiency the guitars have always brought to the table.”
ALLEGAEON is rounded out by guitarist Michael Stancel.
Longtime producer Dave Otero once again joined ALLEGAEON at Colorado’s Flatline Audio Studio, with Burgess asserting that working with Otero is “always easy and a blast.” However, the band concede that the more collaborative nature of the record – and for the first time all members being present in the studio for the entire duration of tracking – led to the passionate butting of heads on occasion. “There was a lot more creative input coming from all directions on every song, and while it was stressful at times to sort through the noise of everyone’s ideas, I think it ultimately added something wholly unique to this album in comparison to any other in the ALLEGAEON catalog.”
“Damnum” Album Artwork
“Damnum” Track Listing:
1. Bastards of the Earth
2. Of Beasts and Worms
3. Into Embers
4. To Carry My Grief Through Torpor and Silence
5. Vermin
6. Called Home
7. Blight
8. The Dopamine Void Pt. 1
9. The Dopamine Void Pt. 2
10. Saturnine
11. In Mourning
12. Only Loss
ALLEGAEON‘s first tour behind “Damnum”will kick off as the band supports OMNIUM GATHERUM beginning February 26 in Brooklyn, NY.
The previously announced Faces Of Death Tour (featuring ALLEGAEON, ARCHSPIRE, BLACK CROWN INITIATE, TO THE GRAVE, and label-mates RIVERS OF NIHIL), has been rescheduled for November 2022 (tickets previously purchased will be valid). All ALLEGAEON tour dates below.
ALLEGAEON ON TOUR With OMNIUM GATHERUM:
February 2022:
26 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Kingsland
27 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
28 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
March 2022
01 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
02 – Orlando, FL @ The Haven
04 – Austin, TX @ Come and Take it Live!
05 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar
06 – Dallas, TX @ Amplified Live
07 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
08 – Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater
09 – El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse Bar & Grill
10 – Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater
11 – San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick
12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Catch One @ Jewel
13 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
14 – Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom
15 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
16 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
18 – Calgary, AB @ Dickens
19 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
20 – Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theater
21 – Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall
22 – Madison, WI @ The Crucible
23 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies
24 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
25 – Montreal, QC @ The Ritz
26 – Quebec City, QC @ Source de la Martinière
27 – Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
FACES OF DEATH TOUR (With RIVERS OF NIHIL, ARCHSPIRE, BLACK CROWN INITIATE, TO THE GRAVE)
November 2022:
11 – Germany, Oberhausen @ Kulttempel
12 – Germany, Karlsruhe @ Die Stadtmitte
13 – Italy, Milan @ Slaughter Club
14 – Switzerland, Aarau @ KiFF
15 – Germany, Munich @ Backstage
16 – Czech Republic, Prague @ Futurum
17 – Austria, Vienna @ Viper Room
18 – Hungary, Budapest @ Dürer Kert
19 – Poland, Poznan @ U Bazyla
20 – Germany, Dresden @ Puschkin
21 – Germany, Berlin @ Hole44
22 – Germany, Hannover @ Béi Chéz Heinz
23 – Denmark, Copenhagen @ Stengade
24 – Germany, Hamburg @ Logo
25 – Netherlands, Nijmegen @ Doornroosje
26 – UK, Bristol @ Thekla
27 – UK, London @ O2 Academy Islington
28 – UK, Glasgow @ Cathouse
29 – UK, Manchester @ Rebellion
30 – UK. Birmingham @ Mama Roux’s
December 2022
01 – UK, Southampton @ The Loft
02 – France, Paris @ Gibus
03 – Belgium, Aarschot @ De Klinker Club
