I reviewed the recent Dawn of Ouroboros album, mentioned Fallujah, and so this is perhaps a full-circle moment. I must, however, admit that I am one of those who enjoyed the early recordings, aka The Harvest Wombs, and feel as though the band hasn’t topped it. The rest of the recordings were frequently plagued with mix/mastering issues, but I felt the band showed what they’re capable of in the live setting. In other words, I’m skeptical of Xenotaph before even listening to a single moment of music.

Luckily, the first released video/song, “Labyrinth of Stone” alleviated those concerns. Not only is the song a tech death banger with an excellent clean chorus, but the video itself has enough ironic self-awareness that it made me giggle the first time. The production is also clean and punchy, so crisis averted. I’m confident these dudes had a blast making it, and it’s one of the best tracks the band has ever released.

The very next track, “The Crystalline Veil,” hits just as hard, though. Making great, memorable tech death songs is difficult. It’s easy to draw some comparisons to Cynic, especially in the vocals. Kyle Schaeffer took over that role on their last album, Empyrean, and the signs of the band finally clicking were eminent. This isn’t to say that the heavy tech death parts are gone because that certainly isn’t the case. The songs, such as this one, just seem more complete.

Do these catchy hooks take away from some of the brutality? Yes, they do. Let’s be fair about it. The production, while excellent, highlights the guitars, but sacrifices heft in many places. “Kaleidoscopic Waves,” one of the earlier tracks, still provides guitar heroics, but Kyle’s silky croons would make Paul Masvidal perk up. Two minutes into the track, Scott and Sam have some excellent solos and harmonies with a chugging riff. That riff is one of those sections where some more heft to the production would be beneficial, but it’s a minor complaint.

Of course, I can’t leave out the title track at the end with its seven-plus minute runtime. Once everything takes off at around a minute, the harsh vocals are on display with some deeper growls. The furious guitars spin everything into a frenzy, and then a solo that reminds me of Within the Ruins takes over. Slightly over the halfway mark, it gets heavier, making the listener think that’s going to be the direction for the rest of the song, but there’s a slowdown into atmospheric territory with a slow-picked riff. That doesn’t last long because it does switch back into more brutal territory. While that section fades out, ethereal vocals take over and end the album.

I never thought I’d be really into a new Fallujah album again, but here we are. I haven’t enjoyed anything they’ve recorded since their first album, but I have listened to all of it. Some were marred by mixing and mastering issues. Some just didn’t have the songs to grab me. Xenotaph is different as there’s not even a middling, lower-quality track among them. In other words, this is a home run and I’m glad they could put it together. If you’re like me and haven’t felt the last few, this is likely to change your mind. I can’t recommend it enough.

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