Sahar of The Metal Saloon recently conducted an interview with guitarist Ryan Glisan of Allegaeon. Described as Modern Melodic Death Metal, Allegaeon (pronounced: uh-lee-juhn)
formed in 2008 and soon after released their 4 song, self-titled EP which quickly gained the
formed in 2008 and soon after released their 4 song, self-titled EP which quickly gained the
attention from the local, national and international metal fans as well as Metal Blade records.
NEW ALBUM - FORMSHIFTER - OUT NOW
Sahar: Can you tell us a bit about your new album, Formshifter, are there any specific influences or inspirations behind this album?
Ryan: Formshifter was actually kind of a last second album. We got done with touring and had only 3 months to finish songs that weren't done, write solos, write lyrics, find a new drummer to play them and overall just get things solid. So when you take that into consideration I feel like we did pretty well. There aren't really any specific influences that I have when I write and I can only speak to my songs that I have wrote. Although I'm sure influences peek through subconsciously.
Sahar: What is your usual song-writing process?
Ryan: Typically Greg and/or I will write a general outline or skeleton of a song and send it to each other to learn. Then lyrics develop and song structure changes to better fit the overall vibe of the song.
Sahar: Your music style has been described as ‘melodic metal’, do you agree with this description? Is sticking with a particular style important to you?
Ryan: I guess in theory I agree although I'd be lying if I said it didn’t bother me. We have songs that are not melodic at all and I know on my part that I never necessarily aim to write melodic parts unless it adds a different necessary colour to the song. Its the same for people that describe us as tech death. If I had to label us as anything it would just be metal. We involve so many styles that it gets very convoluted to describe or to understand.
Sahar: How has your music style changed from album to album, since you first became a band?
Ryan: I'd say that overall we still strive for the same things but are just getting better at doing it in our own way. I've always leaned toward the heavier of the side of metal but enjoy a good melody or catchy vocals as much as the next person, so in my songs that’s really what comes through. As a band, I guess we just try and impress each other more than anything, usually if we can do that then it translates pretty well to others.
Sahar: Do you have a music making process, or do things flow organically?
Ryan: We don’t really have any flow at all since we don’t really write together. We all live decently far from each other so its not really an option for us.
Sahar: Where do you like performing live the most? Is there a city or venue that you particularly look forward to playing?
Ryan: I personally have enjoyed LA, Chicago, NYC, New Orleans and Philly the most. I'd love to play Red Rocks here in Denver, its sweet.
Sahar: What are your fans like and what is the craziest/weirdest thing a fan has ever done?
Ryan: At this point we don’t have a super huge fan-base but that being said we do have some diehard fans. Maybe our most intense fan is a guy in Vegas "Metal Mike" as we call him. He is an older guy and always takes live video of us wherein you can hear him screaming the entire time. He’s a character and a half and always good for some pre and post show entertainment.
Sahar: What has been the most exciting development or event for the band so far?
Ryan: I'd say that Formshifter on its release at one point was the 2nd most downloaded album on itunes and also that after a week of the album being out we hit 3 different billboard charts, we werent expecting that.
Sahar: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Ryan: Just that if you haven’t checked us out, give us a listen. Thanks
Allegaeon Twitter: www.twitter.com/
Allegaeon MySpace: www.myspace.com/
Allegaeon Metal Blade Records: www.metalblade.com/
Allegaeon Amazon: http://t.co/e1tgWnA
