Genre : Progressive technical death metal
Released : September 9th, 2022
Label : Nuclear Blast Records
FFO : The Faceless, Psycroptic, Rivers Of Nihil, Exist
Discovering Fallujah back in 2016 with their album "Dreamless" absolutely rocked my world at the time. Never before had I heard such furiously unrelenting technical death metal mixed with gorgeous ethereal atmospheres brought to life by soaring, epic yet unorthodox guitar work and arrangements along with some fantastic vocal features by composer and vocalist, Tori Letzler.
After undergoing some line-up changes, with most notably Antonio Palermo stepping in for vocal duties, 2019's follow-up to "Dreamless" came in the form of "Undying Light" and was met with a lukewarm reception from fans and ended up getting a bit of an unfair treatment due to the stylistical changes brought on by the new lineup. Despite being a really solid album that continued to showcase Fallujah's excellent musicianship, "Undying Light" discontinued the band's signature style of ethereal tech-death for a more deathcore sounding approach which left a lot of fans feeling like the band had lost its special spark.
After further line-up changes yet again with Kyle Schaefer now in charge of vocals and Evan Brewer (ex-The Faceless, ex-Entheos) stepping in on bass with his unmistakable style, "Empyrean" acts as a sort of bridge linking back to 2016's "Dreamless", picking up where that album left stylistically speaking and pushing that sound forwards while applying the changes brought on by this current lineup and what the band has learned and integrated into their music during the making of "Undying Light".
Where "Dreamless" put a lot of focus upon building atmosphere and a sense of narrative in the way the album was structured, "Empyrean" seems to put more of an emphasis on technical prowess and bombarding aggression.
Which is totally fine by me yet however, in my opinion, results in an album that feels less nuanced, slightly more one-dimensional and lacking some of that artistical intent and direction found in "Dreamless" or "The Flesh Prevails" solely for the sake of heaviness and technicality.
It's not all bad news though since guitarist/composer Scott Carstair's leads sound as soaring as ever and the rest of the band plays with as much unstoppable frenzy as ever before too, with a sense of renewed energy after "Undying Light"'s misstep.
We are once again blessed with airy vocal features from Mrs. Letzler and also Katie Thompson which breathe in both melody and wonder into the album's flow alongside the instantly recognizable venomous vocals of Chaney Crabb (Entheos) which appear on track eight, "Mindless Omnipotent Master".
Overall, I would say that "Empyrean" feels like Fallujah regaining their footing after going through some turbulence and having a better vision for the band's direction and future but there is still room and time left for improvement. It might not have the same immediate impact as some of their previous works but it is undoubtably a fantastic offering of progressive technical death metal this year and I've personally found it to reward repeat listens.
As a final note, I gotta give credit to the absolutely stunning album art from Peter Mohrbacher who was also responsible for the "Dreamless" artwork which both convey the band's musical style so well into imagery and further captivates the imagination of listeners by expanding Fallujah's universe.
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