Proponent for Sentience

Proponent for Sentience is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Allegaeon. It is the band's first release with vocalist Riley McShane and the first to feature clean vocals.[1] The album was released on September 23, 2016 through Metal Blade Records. This is the band's last release with bassist Corey Archuleta, who announced he would be leaving the band at the end of 2016.[2]

Proponent for Sentience
Studio album by
Allegaeon
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2016
RecordedJanuary–February 2016
StudioFlatline Audio in Fort Collins, CO
Genre
Length72:05
LabelMetal Blade
ProducerDave Otero
Allegaeon chronology
Elements of the Infinite
(2014)		 Proponent for Sentience
(2016)		 Apoptosis
(2019)
Singles from Proponent for Sentience
  1. "Gray Matter Mechanics"
    Released: July 14, 2016
  2. "Proponent for Sentience III - The Extermination"
    Released: August 10, 2016
  3. "Subdivisions"
    Released: August 23, 2016

The album was produced by Dave Otero, who produced the band's debut album and previous release, Elements of the Infinite.

Release

"Gray Matter Mechanics – Apassionata Ex Machinea" was the first song released from the album, being released on July 14, 2016. The song marked vocalist Riley McShane's debut with the band.[3] On August 10 the band released the second song from the album, "Proponent for Sentience III – The Extermination", which features guest vocals from Björn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork and guest guitar from Benjamin Ellis of Scar Symmetry.[4] On August 23, Allegaeon released a cover of "Subdivisions", originally by Canadian progressive rock band Rush.[5] A week later on August 30, a music video was released for the song "All Hail Science". The video was shot at Black Sky Brewery in Denver, Colorado.[6]

The album was made available for streaming on September 21 through MetalSucks.[7] The album was released two days later on September 23 via Metal Blade Records.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Hammer[8]
Metal Injection9/10[9]
New Noise[10]

Upon release, Proponent for Sentience received positive reviews from music critics.

Reviewing the album for Metal Hammer, Jason Hicks gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5. Hicks said the extended flamenco passage at the end of "Gray Matter Mechanics" could be potentially jarring and felt that the album's science concept was "samey", but praised the band's musicianship and McShane's vocals, especially on album opener "Proponent for Sentience I – The Conception".[8] New Noise gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and criticized the album's 72 minute run-time and called some of the album's writing sub-par, but said the album is "Allegaeon's best and most complete work to date." The reviewer also praised the song "Proponent for Sentience III – The Extermination" for feeling "like a natural conclusion, with its Grade A melodies and hair-raising moments."[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Allegaeon, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Proponent for Sentience I - The Conception" 6:23
2."All Hail Science" 3:24
3."From Nothing" 5:00
4."Gray Matter Mechanics - Apassionata Ex Machinea" 8:18
5."Of Mind and Matrix" 5:33
6."Proponent for Sentience II - The Algorithm" 8:19
7."Demons of an Intricate Design" 4:25
8."Terrathaw and the Quake" 6:10
9."Cognitive Computations" 5:58
10."The Arbiters" 6:11
11."Proponent for Sentience III - The Extermination" (featuring Björn "Speed" Strid and Benjamin Ellis) 6:59
12."Subdivisions" (Rush cover)Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart5:25
Total length:72:05

Personnel

Allegaeon

  • Riley McShane – lead vocals
  • Greg "Greggoroth" Burgess – lead guitar, classical guitar, acoustic guitar, orchestration
  • Michael Stancel – rhythm guitar
  • Corey Archuleta – bass, backing vocals
  • Brandon Park – drums, percussion

Additional

  • Björn "Speed" Strid – guest vocals on track 11[11]
  • Benjamin Ellis – guest guitar solo on track 11[11]
  • Dave Otero – production and mastering
  • Joseph Ferris – orchestration, sequencing
  • Sam Nelson – artwork

References
  1. "ALLEGAEON Covers RUSH's "Subdivisions" And Stays True To The Prog Gods". Metal Injection. August 23, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  2. Childers, Chad (October 25, 2016). "Allegaeon Bassist Corey Archuleta to Exit Band". Loudwire. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. Rosenberg, Axl (July 14, 2016). ""Gray Matter Mechanics - Apassionata Ex Machinea": Allegaeon Release First Song with New Vocalist". MetalSucks. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  4. Kennelty, Greg (August 11, 2016). "ALLEGAEON"s Play Through For "Proponent For Sentience III" Features A Paper SOILWORK Frontman". Metal Injection. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  5. "Allegaeon premieres 'Subdivisions' (Rush cover)". Metal Blade Records. August 23, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  6. "Allegaeon launches "All Hail Science" performance video online". Metal Blade Records. August 30, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  7. "Exclusive Album Stream: Allegaeon, Proponent for Sentience". MetalSucks. September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  8. Hicks, Jason (September 8, 2016). "Allegaeon album review - Proponent For Sentience". Metal Hammer. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  9. Lambert, Aaron (October 6, 2016). "Album Review: ALLEGAEON Proponent for Sentience". Metal Injection. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. "Album Review: Allegaeon - 'Proponent for Sentience'". New Noise. September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  11. Bowar, Chad (August 10, 2016). "Allegaeon to Unleash New Album 'Proponent for Sentience'". Loudwire. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
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