Review Summary: Brutally heavy, futuristic and thrashy, yet its memorability is somewhat sacrificed due to prevalent fast tempos and lack of catchiness.
Allegaeon have made quite a name for themselves in the metal community as the go-to band when you need something thrashy, melodic and futuristic. They've captivated many a listener with their unique, ubpeat compositions and outstanding solos, all sprinkled with that futuristic, scientific vibe that so many bands try to achieve with mixed success - or at the expense of cheesiness. And now the time has come for their thrid album, Elements of the Infinite.
Due to the pitfalls of the fast-paced formula Allegaeon have chosen for themselves, the band has always been half-killer-half-filler. It is no different this time around. While the songwriting quality is at an all-time high and there are "moments" in every song on the album, the fast-paced assault Allegaeon confine themselves to makes it more difficult for the songs to stand on their own - the variances in tempo that generally set songs apart from each other are all but absent, and therefore the band have to rely on the quality of the riffs themselves to make things interesting. And they succeed - most of the time.
Obviously, the track teased earlier with the hilarious music video, "1.618" is a standout track, showing some of the band's strongest songwriting. Sadly, it surpasses the immediate catchiness of most other tracks, though after several listens others start to be growers as well - particularly the most melodic track of the album "Gravimetric Time Dilation". Luckily, towards the end of the album the guys really start mixing things up, with the experimental "Through Ages of Ice - Otzi's Curse" and the traditional long and progressive closer track "Genocide for Praise - Vals for the Vitruvian Man", which isn't quite as strong as "Accelerated Evolution" from their debut album, but still quite good. Prolonged acoustic guitar passages appear several times throughout the album and are a very welcome addition to what is otherwise quite uniform in sound and structure.
As with all Allegaeon albums, Elements of the Infinite is probably best enjoyed in small chunks, one song at a time - just like eating one Mars bar will be quite enjoyable, but eating three you'll feel less and less of the flavor with every next one you eat. At the very least, the album will definitely satisfy those who loved Allegaeon in the first place, though it might not woo those of lukewarm disposition towards the band.
Album rating: 3.4
