Prog death-metal outfit FALLUJAH expand horizons and solidify their position as one of America’s most exciting acts on their new album, Xenotaph, through Nuclear Blast. The quintet’s confidence in the lineup that made their previous album, Empyrean (2022), such a resounding success—earning high marks from Metal Injection, New Noise, and Guitar World—has been reconfigured slightly, with guitarist Sam Mooradian (INHALE EXISTENCE, SAM MOORADIAN) and drummer Kevin Alexander (DISEMBODIED TYRANT, BROUGHT BY PAIN) bringing their jaw-dropping musical proficiency to the fold, as vocalist Kyle Schaefer, guitarist Scott Carstairs, and bassist Evan Brewer enter a new chapter with FALLUJAH. Moored by singles ‘Kaleidoscopic Waves,’ ‘Labyrinth of Stone,’ and ‘Step Through the Portal and Breathe,’ Xenotaph is FALLUJAH personified, reinvigorated, and re-imagined.
Since forming in 2007, Fallujah have triumphed over their challenges. Whether it’s self-administering the band, going to school, writing music, or working full-time, they’ve savored release of and diehard fan admiration for six albums in The Harvest Wombs (2011), The Flesh Prevails (2014), Dreamless (2016), Undying Light (2019), Empyrean and the 2025’s Xenotaph. Indeed, diligence and creative enterprise have resulted in high-profile tours with Whitechapel, Suffocation, The Black Dahlia Murder, and more across North America, Europe, and Australia. Fallujah also prospered with critics in Metal Hammer, Allmusic, and Metalsucks. The group’s Billboard chart positions on the Top Hard Rock Albums (Dreamless, The Flesh Prevails) and Heatseekers Albums (Dreamless, Undying Light) prove that with every twist and turn, Fallujah’s fans are with them.
Xenotaph was produced by FALLUJAH, engineered by Dave Otero (CATTLE DECAPITATION, ARCHSPIRE) and Mike Low (VITRIOL, ABORTED) at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado and Top Track Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Otero also mixed and mastered Xenotaph. The main goal was elevation, building upon yet soaring upward from Empyrean, one of the group’s strongest productions to date. The team focused the separation of FALLUJAH’s breakneck pace, meticulous songcraft, euphonious leads, and unrivaled intensity, creating an experience pulls the listener into Xenotaph’s high-caliber music and concept.
Beyond releasing Xenotaph to an anticipating fanbase, FALLUJAH take aim at the road, drawing upon the success of their Empyrean runs. Indeed, attendees to the group’s live performances have witnessed some of Xenotaph’s songs already, namely the shimmery prog-bounce and inner world horror of ‘The Obsidian Architect.’ FALLUJAH are in a perpetual state of evolution, and Xenotaph demonstrates the group’s hard-won, if profound journey. For there is no reverse—only forward progress, and the path ahead is illuminating before them. Step through the portal if you dare…