Fallujah
Xenotaph


3.4
great

Review

by NightOnDrunkMountain EMERITUS
June 13th, 2025 | 126 replies


Release Date: 06/13/2025 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Together, unchained as stars erupt in harmony.

The search for grace within brutality seems to be an enduring obsession under the dome of modern metal. Through a revolving door of lineups and a high-gloss sci-fi lens, Fallujah’s musical evolution has undergone significant sonic reinventions without losing core directives, yet they have not always supported the detours they have taken particularly well. After kicking it off in a deathcore suit for a few years, the band jumped into a silver pool of ambience and ornate fretwork with The Flesh Prevails in 2014, an album that managed to turn a lot of heads, yet had an overly loud production that for some (including me) was almost a dealbreaker. Follow-ups were more contentious, as both Dreamless in 2016 and especially Undying Light in 2019 were something of stylistic misfires in midtempo vagueness that landed with all the force of a soft sigh on a pillow, but a needed re-alignment brought the shimmering but bruised return to good form in 2022 and Empyrean, which was at the very least more convincing and far away from previous creative wreckage.

Entering Xenotaph, the band has now made peace with its contradictions and confidently expands upon its very own progressive death metal framework, a tug of war between polished progressions and fractal riffing on whiplash tempo shifts, where the growls sparingly coexist with a variety of clean vocals that has considerably increased in amount compared to previous releases. While the album leans heavily into clean sheen at the expense of teeth, Fallujah have seemingly found a new sense of intent in this continuous juxtaposition of vaporous, wide-angle post-metal passages and serrated tech death architecture, with ghosts from The Flesh Prevails lurking in the background, yet Xenotaph is far from a trip down memory lane. Some weight has been sacrificed in the process of veering towards cosmic immersion and further away from technical hysteria, but still the band has taken respectable steps in improving the exactitude and cohesion of its material, despite emphasizing so much on its diverse components.

The whole album advances at this mercurial pace, maintaining the tension at red while the band demonstrates its indisputably high level of musicianship. You’ll get the full experience in tracks like “Kaleidoscopic Waves”, “The Crystalline Veil” and “Step Through the Portal and Breathe”, which represent the nucleus of Xenotaph and reach the whole musical palette the band has to offer in 2025, in all its unpredictable and turbulent glory. Right out of a womb nurtured by bands such as Intronaut / Between the Buried and Me, and Obscura / Spawn of Possession, there is a lot of meat to chew on for fans of these bands, or generally spacious, lush extreme metal in high production and flashy colours. Slightly less impactful for me were the shorter tracks, the somewhat mild opener “In Stars We Drown” and then “The Parasitic Dream”, which unfortunately isn’t as memorable as the aforementioned blasters. On the other hand, Xenotaph shines when both its extremes are in the spotlight, e.g. in “Labyrinth of Stone” (but please save yourselves from watching the video clip).

For me, it’s not until the last two chapters of the record that the real highlights start. The unexpectedly darker and heavier “The Obsidian Architect”, especially at the breakdown-like segment in its first half, shows Fallujah at their most combative form. The closing, self-titled track, is the longest of the album and the closest the band has come in creating something of beauty and grace in tandem, and as balanced as possible. Heading into the end of Xenotaph, the grace we were looking for at the beginning of this text was almost found. The album does hit its emotional signposts, as it’s also lyrically invested in the fascination with outer space and inner collapse, but still, the aftertaste it left me was more of a feeling of restraint rather than catharsis. For all the album’s intensity, I could not shake the feeling that the band still played with the safety rails on, and I can say I sort of missed a moment capable of fully collapsing your ribcage. That, though, is not to take away from an otherwise bold and exciting record, that shows Fallujah at their most focused since 2014, and charged with ambition.




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user ratings (118)
3.6
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
NightOnDrunkMountain
Emeritus
June 13th 2025


1064 Comments

Album Rating: 3.4

Out today folks!

JWT155
June 13th 2025


15012 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Really enjoyed my first listen, they finally seem to have struck a great balance.

mindleviticus
June 13th 2025


10834 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

I like this a lot more than Empyrean

Hawks
Contributing Reviewer
June 13th 2025


107378 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Awful band, great review!

Pikazilla
June 13th 2025


32373 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

harvest wombs and nomadic slap, hawks



everything else is negligible

Gameofmetal
Emeritus
June 13th 2025


11967 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

wrongers

NightOnDrunkMountain
Emeritus
June 13th 2025


1064 Comments

Album Rating: 3.4

Thank you Hawks brother, yes I've noticed you don't like these guys haha

Hawks
Contributing Reviewer
June 13th 2025


107378 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Never jammed Nomadic but I hate Harvest Wombs so I'd imagine I'd hate that one too sadly lol.

Futures
June 13th 2025


16266 Comments


harvest wombs rocks so hard

mindleviticus
June 13th 2025


10834 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

I do think you would actually like Nomadic, Hawks, it's a gorgeous ep.



It's my favorite thing they've ever done by a long shot, and I haven't really ~super~ enjoyed their stuff post-flesh prevails all that much

Nomos2
June 13th 2025


2132 Comments


Hey, this is out today???? Fun fact, last night I was having a smoke on the sidewalk before seeing Inferi and Greylotus, when I see Kyle from Fallujah walking down the street.

In Edmonton, Alberta, on a Thursday night. Turns out he's touring as vocalist for Greylotus!
The whole venue was splitting focus between the Stanley Cup Final game and the bands, but Greylotus got full attention. Soooo good. Kyle is such a nice and hardworking dude that I can only wish the best for this band. Checking out tonight! I should have congratulated him on the release.

ThatDude
June 13th 2025


140 Comments


Loved Empyrean. Glad to see they are keeping it up on the same caliber.

Calc
June 13th 2025


17760 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

gotta give this a few more spins to see if it seeps in my bones right.

Dedes
Contributing Reviewer
June 13th 2025


11874 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I was a little disappointed on first listen since they've delved even deeper into more dizzying/whimsical prog death territory and it makes things bleed together -somewhat- but now that I'm relistening I can really pick apart unique flows from track to track. The start-stop midsection of The Crystalline Veil is a good example and is soooon fucking sweet. Maybe my 2nd least favorite Fallujah thus far but uhhh that really says nothing lol

trilo
June 13th 2025


6956 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

dunno what to rate this yet but i do know the t/t is a ripper and easily the best track

ChuckyTruant
June 14th 2025


15947 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Great review! Album slays.

Purpl3Spartan
June 14th 2025


9495 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

pretty fun

Imperial
June 14th 2025


2124 Comments


so fuckin good

slikphuk
June 14th 2025


633 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

awesome album, awesome review. always had a soft spot for these guys

Beardog
June 14th 2025


6035 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

deedlydoodlywobbly death metal i like. Nice production, great separation without sounding too clinical



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