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Despite suffering a myriad of changing personnel over their near two-decade career, it’s remarkable that FALLUJAH remain at the summit of technical and progressive death metal. The San Francisco-based band’s blend of intricate and visceral tech death alongside serene atmospherics is a match made in heaven that has been more refined with each subsequent release. 2022’s Empyrean saw a welcome return to form after 2019’s divisive Undying Light, album number six Xenotaph sees FALLUJAH ascend to a height previously thought unfathomable.
Largely, this down to the brave, organic, and effortlessly natural evolution of the FALLUJAH soundscape, spearheaded by vocalist Kyle Schaefer, who consistently impresses with a wide and dynamic vocal range throughout the record. From sultry opener In Stars We Drown, that gives the first glimpse into the band’s new and expanded palette, through to the alluring chorus in Labyrinth Of Stone, a track which ebbs and flows from blistering technicality to reflective passages, leading from the front in a career defining studio performance, Schaefer‘s ability to twist and contort vocally helps drive the record’s lasting impact across its lean 42 minute run time.
It’s not just vocally where we’ve seen an expansion of the band’s greatest traits. Musically, Xenotaph is a bountiful buffet of atmospheric heavy tech death. Kaleidoscope Waves boasts a passage of play where guitarist – and sole original member – Scott Carstairs leads a jazz-fusion dance of elaborate technicality which will have you desperate to hit the replay button. Similarly, the way in which The Crystalline Veil allows each component of the band’s makeup to shine is incredibly slick and the elaborate musicianship is quite simply, a joy to listen to.
But, where Xenotaph really excels in the way in the band take each individual component and present it as one exhilarating cohesive listening experience. The way in the band demonstrate their multifaceted personas is quite simply, astonishing, and when it unleashes, it packs the force of a tsunami. Take Step Through the Portal and Breathe, for example. A staggering piece of brilliance, the way in which the band twist and contort their musical maelstrom whilst maintaining pinpoint precision is devastatingly brilliant and it’s closing solo is nothing short of stunning. Elsewhere, A Parasitic Dream duels and dances against a dizzying amount of shred and it’s supporting atmosphere is wholly immersive, whereas The Obsidian Architect has enough ferocity and technical shred that feels akin to 2011’s The Harvest Wombs.
At this point, we’re wondering just how far FALLUJAH can ascend to, as their trajectory and musical craft is in a league of its own. Building upon the renewed sense of purpose achieved through Empyrean, Xenotaph sees the San Francisco natives at their creative zenith, delivering a record that sets the benchmark for technical death metal in 2025 and beyond.
Rating: 9/10
Xenotaph is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: Xenotaph – Fallujah appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
