Album/EP

Allocer - The First Offering (EP Review)

Andrew Kapper

Aug 14, 2023

7 min read

Allocer - The First Offering

‍Released: June 23, 2023

Line Up:

Joel Pears // Vocals

Aaron Cicanese // Guitars

Grant Withers // Guitars

Zac Kay // Bass

Hexen Pannoz // Drums

Online:

Facebook

‍Instagram

Home to some of Australia’s finest heavy - and musical - exports, one of Perth’s freshest extreme metal entities’ Allocer may be the next big coming out of Western Australia. Their debut EP, the aptly titled The First Offering, cherry picks some of the best elements of modern death metal; with shades of deathcore, blackened, melodic death metal splattered across this five track release.

The EP immediately kicks into gear with the flattening opener ‘Canyon Crown’ - absolutely no fluffing around here. There’s loads of big moments on display - especially the riff-driven, ear-grabbing passage at 1:20. The band’s influences begin to broaden out on the following tunes, from the blackened ‘Cyanide Sleeper’, to the fantastic Black Dahlia Murder-esque ‘Of Madness and Mercury’. The former features subtle piano amongst the blackened deathcore assault, while ‘Of Madness and Mercury’ is arguably the most inspired cut on The First Offering - immediately commanding with its classic melodic death metal edge, and an obvious choice as its first single.

Joel Pears’ vocals are one of Allocer’s strongest suits, with the frontman effortlessly moving between piercing shrieks and full bodied growls. The First Offering’s production is solid - a little characterless, but plenty of low end and the output sounds powerful. One criticism is that the material does seem to run a little too long - nothing wrong with ‘epic’ songs in this genre, but trimming some of the repeated and/or less memorable moments would make for a more direct and potent attack. Fortunately, the usage of breakdowns is reigned in, keeping the beatdowns huge and devastating when they're put to good use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo2bPV8XfF0&pp=ygUMYWxsb2NlciBiYW5k

‘Rodent Vision’ features some of the most melodic and metalcore-sounding sections of the release, while the closer ‘Crimson Countess’ is the purest death metal assault on the extended play. Packing some solid grooves, Pears’ brutal vocals and some excellent all-round guitar work - the trem-picked riffs in particular - it’s a killer way to The First Offering - and a clear rival for ‘Of Madness and Mercury’ as the EP MVP.

With a boot in both the worlds of new and old school death metal, The First Offering is a strong debut from the five-piece Allocer. With tight musicianship and well-rounded influences, the quintet’s floor work has certainly been done. If the group can double down on their songwriting and carve out their own niche, they have all the tools and potential to become yet another major heavy music contender from Western Australia. Bring on the second offering - and beyond.