Review Summary: A unique output that will refresh listeners, at the very least.
There are few bands out there that strive to be unique-- to set themselves apart. Fallujah seems to be one of them. They are a fairly new metal outfit, hailing from San Francisco, which according to many sites started out in 2009. We all know that Fallujah is the most dangerous place in the world, located in the most dangerous country... Iraq! Why they decided to name themselves that is a good question. Will it be borne out in their music? Are they trying to be the epitome of aggression, languish, terror and death? Find out below. There's not much to write about them at this point. But their first album... The Harvest Wombs... it's amazing.
To be succinct, the most intriguing characteristic about their sound are the guitars. The drumming is done in that extreme vein, where ear drums are pounded relentlessly with triplet and double base kicks, tom rolls and hordes of snare tapping-- not to mention the tasteful hi-hat fills and what-not; the vocalist follows that cliche death metal growl/gutteral, where none of the words being said are understood, barring a lyrics booklet. The bassist, at the moment, is a bit low in the mix, and doesn't provide any melody but the fat tone is there. But no, none of those seemingly generic elements take anything away from this band, for it's in the manner in which they craft the sound out of their instruments that defines them.
On first listen to the album's first track, one will know why they named themselves Fallujah. The atmosphere is filled with anxiety and terror. It inspires wanderlust and ambien, taking you on a journey through what an American soldier may encounter in this perilous place. What exactly causes this? The guitars, specifically the distortion setting employed, and the chord progressions used. They are dark at times, light at others. The improvisation is technical yes -- but filled with emotion; It serves as the Yang to the rhythm section's Yin. The guitar scale that is used here is supposedly neo-classical... whatever, it's an involving listen; Some passages are swirling melodies that truly carry you to another place ( namely on Cerebral Hybridization, for example, but each track has it's own... world. ) The constant barrage that is the drumming performance adds to the brutality and terror, reminding you that this place is evil. The growling itself is really another instrument in this case, and sounds right at home in the sonic landscape. It's too bad the bass wasn't implemented as well as it could have been, it would have been interesting to see how it could add to this atmosphere a la Ne Obliviscaris.
One could go on and on trying to describe the coma inducing trip ( in a positive vein ) that is The Harvest Wombs, but listen and you will see. At the very LEAST, this is a unique output that will refresh listeners from the stagnated Death Metal scene. No obvious flaws can be pointed out right now, other than the lack of bass and the void that is left by the incomprehensible lyrics. The connection to music lies very deeply in the lyrical content, and that is not found here. Thankfully, the musical virtuosity saves it from failing on all fronts, and that's a BIG save.
Standout tracks ( even though the album as a whole is great ):
Alpha Incipient
Cerebral Hybridization (but those are more my favorites than they are "standouts". )
