Sticking with the recent "prog albums with purple-ish covers" theme, this week's non-core spotlight shines on Fallujah's latest album that dropped quite recently. And thank god it did, because I believe I've finally struck death metal gold and found the perfect platform to expand my taste from.
Being supported live to release the album by a previously-featured band on this blog, Son of Aurelius, and being constantly compared to The Faceless, it was only a matter of time until I got around to hearing The Harvest Wombs. And I have to say, these guys may be the band that seals the deal with me trying to enter the world of death-oriented metal. They just do nearly EVERYTHING right. The shred & technicality you'd expect from bands of the genre, with an extra dose of epic guitar solos, and with somewhat more of a progressive approach than I'm used to hearing.
Songs follow barely cohesive structures, and are frequently divided with atmospheric interludes... that sometimes make their way into the rest of the music. Somehow, the band manage to successfully implement post-rock-esque atmospheric guitarwork and melody into the relentless assault of aggression and brutality. They certainly have the right to call themselves an "atmospheric death metal" band, because the album is more than just 40 minutes of the mindless, speedy tech instrumentation that so commonly dominates the genre; there's real soul, and real emotion here.
Fallujah deliver The Harvest Wombs with the power and passion you'd expect from a melodic death or post-metal band, without sacrificing any of the speed, precision and technicality the foundation of their music is based on. Really, my only complaint is the album isn't entirely solid, some songs or moments overshadowing others. Small wonder why people are considering this their album of year... despite all the worthy contenders.
The Harvest WombsReleased: 2011
Country: USA
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal
"Alpha Incipient"
"Cerebral Hybridization"
