Review FALLUJAH “Xenotaph”

Hailing from San Francisco, California, Fallujah are one of the spearhead progressive death metal bands. After launching their debut album, “The Harvest Wombs”, in 2011, the band is now showcasing their sixth musical approach with “Xenotaph”.

The four-piece has undergone another period of lineup changes, with Scott Carstairs being the constant factor. Bassist Evan Brewer and drummer Kyle Schaefer were already part of the previous record, while guitarist Moordiam joined Fallujah in 2023. “Xenotaph” is his first album release with the progressive death metal outfit.

“Xenotaph” is Fallujah’s sixth album and features eight massive death metal songs that burst with technical finesse. The opener echoes the fact that the band takes a wider approach than just furious blastbeats. ‘In Stars We Drown’ is an atmospheric album opener featuring clean vocals and peaceful ambience. Even when the heaviness of the songs increases drastically in the second half, it is the basic theme that runs through “In Stars We Drown” from start to finish.

Next is “Kaleidoscope Waves”, a musical delight for fans of complex death metal. Technically demanding and musically challenging, the song balances the aggressiveness of deep growls with melodic guitar lines. The band navigates between cinematic moments and brutal blasts with ease, a quality that also characterises “Labyrinth of Stars”. The song is characterised by fretboard gymnastics and vocals that alternate between barking, rasping screams and clean vocals.

The band always operates at the creative limit without drowning in endless jam-like parts. “The Crystalline Veil” pushes this approach to its limits, and it feels as though everything happening within these almost six minutes is overwhelming.

Out of all the songs mentioned, it is ‘A Parasitic Dream’ that hits the nail on the head, as the band distils their musical creativity into an immersive experience that is mostly atmospheric, which also comes through in the beginning of ‘The Obsidian Architect’. This dark, almost dystopian-sounding track is another milestone moment on the album. It is this musical tightrope act between harmonic, soul-pleasing melodies and massive walls of sound that creates a special kind of excitement.

Fallujah saved the title track for the end of the album. “Xenotaph” is a mind-blowing showcase of guitar virtuosity. This seven-minute musical piece, masterfully presented by the Californian four-piece, is a marriage of harmony and brutality that echoes throughout.

‘Xenotaph’ is an aggressive yet musically rich album. It comes with crushing metal eruptions and also shows musical savvy, leading to moments and breaks that distract and fascinate at the same time. The band’s rich sonic landscape is sketched in the album “Xenotaph”, which is challenging for both ears and mind. It will fascinate you from the moment you press play and continue to do so for many more hours.