Review by Jeger on May 21, 2025.

Are you locked in? If not, go ahead and buckle your seatbelts, kids, because Fallujah has returned… In the world of progressive/technical Death Metal, it's been Fallujah who've made the most profound impact on the scene as of late, and it's due to both their unfathomable talents and their unparalleled standards when it comes to engineering. We're talking otherworldly stuff here; music that thematically spans over concepts pertaining to metaphor, psyche and existence; all enshrouded in a senses-scrambling, ever-complex sonic tapestry; interwoven by not just artists, but mad scientists -conceptual/musical expeditionists whose brave adventures into the realm of the avant-garde have produced some of Extreme Metal's most revered recordings. Since 2007, Fallujah has scaled the sheer bluffs of your imagination, and now rest upon a most coveted vantage point, overlooking a genre that was birthed by one Chuck Schuldiner (Death) oh so many years ago, and that has evolved substantially over the decades.

If I'm to be brutally honest, I usually despise this stuff. A musical enterprise to impress other musicians, as opposed to appeasing enthusiasts has the tech world become. I'm generally unimpressed with all of the uber-technical mumbo-jumbo that constitutes modern Death Metal progressivism, and I miss the the days of "Individual Though Patterns" (Death) and "Millenium" (Monstrosity); back when all of this stuff was still recognizable as true death metal, despite its technical leanings. But Fallujah is one of few exceptions. The recording quality of their music alone is enough for me to gladly lend myself over to the Fallujah experience. I place them in a category of tech/prog excellence where only bands such as Rivers of Nihil and Psycroptic can call home, and on June 13, Fallujah will release Xenotaph via Nuclear Blast.

Conceptually, Xenotaph is an exploration of life, death and the deceptive nature of the human psyche. Like one of those Sci-Fi stories that end with everything being a dream, only vastly more imaginative: Angels, the afterlife and parasitic infection. Musically? Shit, man… Expect the usual levels of bedazzlement, but with more emphasis on clean vocals and dreamlike sequences. Compositionally brilliant and packaged beautifully in what is arguably the finest production quality I've had the pleasure of laying ears upon. From the enchanting yet soulful opening track, "In Stars We Drown" to the majestic yet aggressive, "Step Through The Portal And Breathe", all the way through to the overwhelmingly brutal yet intricate closing titular cut, an experience for the books. A little experimentation paying dividends here, and that textbook Fallujah style is just shimmering atop of it all.

What sets albums like Xenotaph apart from all of the aforementioned mumbo-jumbo out there is feeling. This isn't just a technical affair but also a deep-seated experience that hits at cerebral and heart levels. This album means a lot to Fallujah, and their emotional attachment to it is evident in every soulful lead, every impassioned clean and every tactful percussive progression. Not a perfect record, but most certainly one that is well worth any Extreme Metal enthusiasts time. The parasite lurks within - conducting visions and creating epiphanies as a puppeteer would sway his marionette - life and death is but an illusion… Are you prepared?

Rating: 8.5 out of 10