Fallujah // Empyrean // Album Review

Technical death metal merchants Fallujah are back with a blinding new album, “Empyrean”, on the 9th of September.

It is a blend of traditional death metal with a melodic and funky feel. The opening track “Bitter Taste Of Clarity” doesn’t mess about as it pummels you right from the off with an incessant drum beat and riff, as the new singer, Kyle Schaeffer, settles himself on vocals with a monstrous performance, the guitars are stunning here as they offer both heavy, grinding riffs but also some nice melodic shredding which plays really well of the heavy drum and bass beats.

Following hot on its heels and losing none of the momentum built up is “Radiant Ascension” and “Embrace Oblivion”; two tracks that further compound the band’s ability to absolutely crush from a heaviness point but also have a melodic soft touch that meshes really well, the ambient breakdown in the middle of “Radiant Ascension” has a cool bass line that gives a groovy feel which wraps around the thumping heaviness of the drums, killer guitars and savage vocals; “Embrace Oblivion” has more of a grind feel to it, down-tuned and bass-heavy, but at the breakdown, it drops to a more mellow tempo, the clean vocals of Schaeffer and Tori Letzler are amazing and completely contrasting to what has come before, this for me is one of the standout tracks on the album. There are a couple of straight-up beasts that will blow your mind, these come in the shape of “Eden’s Lament”, “Soulbreaker” and “Mindless Omnipotent Master”; they are are all full throttle with your typical cutting riffs, massive bass lines and thunderous drums that will shake you to your core, but as much as they are of a similar vein the band have tweaked each of the tracks with a smattering of clean vocals and cracking melodic solos to suit the tone of the track giving you a different sonic assault over three blistering tracks.

“Into The Eventide” has to be one of the best tracks you will hear this year; it is packed with massive shifts in pace, from the blasting drums to the groovy bass that runs underneath it, to the guttural vocals that are backed up by haunting harmonies from Katie Thompson and the guitars that are off the hook as they range from chugging beasts to melodic killers, this is just incredible. The album wraps with two monumental tracks in the shape of “Celestial Resonance” and the closer “Artifacts”. Dealing with the former first, it amazes me how people say death metal and the like can’t be technical as all it is is noise, but most bands are much more proficient and technical than your average “Metal” band and this track goes to prove the point in a big way; massive airy guitars, thunderous drums that while they crash and bang are so subtle when needed and a bass that is as groovy and funky as you will find on a jazz album, this simply transcends the genre and is just stunning, you will be hard pushed to find a more complete and all encompassing instrumental anywhere, it leads nicely into the final track, “Artifacts”, which explodes out of the blocks with a savage drum and guitar attack that will melt your face with Schaeffer compounding the brutality with some killer vocals, after the initial onslaught the track softens its approach with some clean singing from Schaeffer and haunting harmonies from Tori Letzler before it soars again with a bass heavy groove laden section as Carstairs comes in over the top with a cracking solo, the track see-saws back and forth before closing on an atmospheric synth piece.

“Empyrean” is out on September 9th Via Nuclear Blast Records