With barely a month remaining before the release of their their highly anticipated 5th studio album, “Empyrean,” Bay Area masters of atmospheric technical death metal FALLUJAH have unleashed their final single, a torrential masterpiece titled “Soulbreaker.” A masterclass of guitar wizardry and a devastating gut punch of pummeling rhythm, the ripping new track takes fans into the pit with a decimating level of sonic ferocity.
Commenting on the song, founding guitarist Scott Carstairs says: “Prepare to have your mind melted by our latest track ‘SOULBREAKER.’ This will be our third and final single from our monstrous record ‘Empyrean’ out on 9/9. ‘Soulbreaker’ is a psychedelic spiral into depravity, relentlessly beating you down with pissed off riffs and ethereal walls of sonic bliss. Try not to break your neck listening to this one.”
FALLUJAH emerges, post-pandemic, revitalized as they explore new sonic realms and revisit elements of style executed on early records. With an overhauled lineup that includes primary songwriter/guitarist Scott Carstairs and compeer/drummer Andrew Baird and newly added vocalist Kyle Schaefer (Archaeologist) and bassist Evan Brewer (formerly Entheos/The Faceless), FALLUJAH are at a creative peak that’s nearly unmatched in modern death metal.
Shortly after releasing their upcoming album, Divine Council (available August 5th), Australian extreme metal group Psycroptic will co-headline a North American trek with tech-metal masters Fallujah, featuring progressive outfit Interloper and tech-death unit Cognitive as support. Dubbed “The Divine Ascension Tour“, this extensive run kicks off September 11th in Los Angeles, CA, and is one show not to be missed!
Psycroptic‘s Todd Stern (bass) comments: “We have been caged up for far too long, and I believe this upcoming tour with Fallujah & friends will be a full-on revitalization of the band. We have new material, we believe in it strongly, and are going into this tour planning to be ferocious. I promise that this will be the most aggressive version of the band you’ve seen in ages.“
“The Divine Ascension Tour” dates w/ Psycroptic, Fallujah, Interloper, Cognitive Sept. 11 – West Hollywood, CA – Whisky-A-Go-Go Sept. 12 – Mesa, AZ – Nile Underground Sept. 13 – El Paso, TX – Rockhouse Bar & Grill Sept. 14 – Denver, CO – Marquis Theater Sept. 15 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck Sept. 16 – Austin, TX – Come and Take it Live Sept. 17 – Dallas, TX – Amplified Live Sept. 18 – Houston, TX – Acadia Sept. 20 – Orlando, FL – The Haven Sept. 21 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade (Purgatory) Sept. 22 – Spartanburg, SC – Ground Zero Sept. 23 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery Sept. 24 – Brooklyn, NY – The Meadows Sept. 25 – Clifton, NJ – Dingbatz Sept. 26 – Providence, RI – Alchemy Sept. 27 – Québec City, QC – Source de la Martinière Sept. 28 – Montreal, QC – Foufounes Electriques Sept. 29 – Ottawa, ON – Brass Monkey Sept. 30 – Albany, NY – Empire Underground Oct. 1 – Pittsburgh, PA – Preserving Underground Oct. 2 – Cleveland, OH – Cleveland Masonic (Asylum) Oct. 3 – Chicago, IL – Reggies Oct. 4 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cabooze Oct. 5 – Winnipeg, MB – Park Theater Oct. 6 – Regina, SK – The Exchange Oct. 7 – Calgary, AB – Dickens Oct. 8 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room Oct. 10 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater Oct. 11 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon Oct. 12 – Portland, OR – Bossanova Ballroom Oct. 13 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst Oct. 14 – Fresno, CA – Full Circle Brewery District Oct. 15 – Santa Ana, CA – Stages
Fifteen years into their career, San Francisco technical death metal giants FALLUJAH have never sounded more vital or intense. On their stunning 5th album, “Empyrean,” that’s due out September 9th from Nuclear Blast, the band emerges revitalized as they explore new sonic realms and revisit elements of style executed on early records. With an overhauled lineup that includes primary songwriter/guitarist Scott Carstairs and compeer/drummer Andrew Baird and newly added vocalist Kyle Schaefer (Archaeologist) and bassist Evan Brewer (formerly Entheos/The Faceless), FALLUJAH are at a creative peak that’s nearly unmatched in modern death metal.
Commenting on “Empyrean,” Carstairs says: “After such an experimental expression [with ‘Undying Light’], we sat down to write ‘Empyrean’ completely refreshed and inspired, It was like the musical tension of the last decade had been released, and we were ready to achieve goals the band had originally set out for. ‘Empyrean’ is truly a return to form because we are doing what comes naturally to us, but with an intensity that we haven’t achieved in the past. We set out to create something that represents the band and its history in its purest form while also pushing our technical abilities further than we have ever gone. Every Fallujah album has been a reflection of whatever ideas felt the freshest and exciting to us at that particular point in time. We’ve developed our own defined sound over the years, but on this album, our new members helped bring in some new perspectives. We incorporated new elements such as counterpoint and tempo changes but maintained elements integral to the band and even brought back techniques used in older records. At this point, it’s all about elegantly presenting the sound we have cultivated over the last decade.”
Today, the band has laid out the details of the forthcoming record and unleashed its ferocious first single “Radiant Ascension,” which is accompanied by the music video produced by Defiant Digital Productions and directed by Robert Graves.
This spring, Nuclear Blast labelmates FALLUJAH and ALLUVIAL will join death metal giants RIVERS OF NIHIL for the U.S. leg of their “Terrestria World Tour,” with additional support from WARFORGED, HYPOCRISY, THE ZENITH PASSAGE and BURIAL IN THE SKY. The tour will embark on May 6th in Brooklyn and will culminate on June 5th in Pittsburgh. Tickets are on sale now at https://bandsintown.com/a/1048458-rivers-of-nihil.
Bay Area metal band FALLUJAH is making quarantine moves. Today, the band has announced an addition to their lineup, welcoming notable guitarist Nico Santora (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, THE FACELESS, LILLAKE) to the family. The band has released a new video discussing their history with Santora.
FALLUJAH’s latest album, Undying Light, was released in 2019 with Nuclear Blast. The record was mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis (CANNIBAL CORPSE, WHITECHAPEL, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CARNIFEX), while drums and vocals were tracked by Lewis and guitars and bass were recorded by guitarist Scott Carstairs. The album is the band’s first with their newest member, vocalist Antonio Palermo.
This April, ALLEGAEON will hit the road for a massive stateside headlining tour with support provided by Fallujah, Entheos, and Etherius. The Terrestrial Takeover Tour runs from April 9th through April 29th.
Comments the band, “We are very happy to announce The Terrestrial Takeover Tour 2020 – a US headliner with support from our amazing friends in Fallujah, Entheos, and Etherius. This lineup is such a total powerhouse of melodic and progressive death metal – we could not possibly be more excited to be taking this beast on the road. Having toured with both Fallujah and Entheos in the past, we know first-hand how fantastic these bands are in a live setting and cannot wait to see them bring it every night as they always do. Intimate shows, top-tier production, and an absolutely stacked lineup…Tickets for this are going to go fast, so make sure to grab yours while they’re still available. We look so forward to seeing all of our incredible fans back out on the road for the first time since last Autumn.” See all confirmed dates below.
ALLEGAEONw/ Fallujah, Entheos, Etherius:
4/09/2020 Marquis Theater – Denver, CO
4/10/2020 Lefty’s Live Music – Des Moines, IA
4/11/2020 Gabes – Iowa City, IA
4/12/2020 Reggies – Chicago, IL
4/13/2020 Sanctuary – Detroit, MI
4/14/2020 Phantasy Concert Club – Lakewood, OH
4/15/2020 Dingbatz – Clifton, NJ
4/16/2020 Alchemy – Providence, RI
4/17/2020 The Kingsland – Brooklyn, NY
4/18/2020 Voltage Lounge – Philadelphia, PA
4/19/2020 The Mothlight – Asheville, NC
4/21/2020 Tomcats West – Ft. Worth, TX
4/22/2020 Come And Take It Live! – Austin, TX
4/23/2020 Rockhouse Bar & Grill – El Paso, TX
4/24/2020 Club Red – Mesa, AZ
4/25/2020 Dive Bar – Las Vegas, NV
4/26/2020 Whisky-A-Go-Go – West Hollywood, CA
4/27/2020 Metro Opera House – Oakland, CA
4/28/2020 Star Lounge – Portland, OR
4/29/2020 Club Sur – Seattle, WA
ALLEGAEON will be touring in support of their latest album, Apoptosis, releasedlast year via Metal Blade Records. Tracked at Flatline Audio in Denver with long-serving producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage), Apoptosis is ALLEGAEON‘s fifth full-length and first to feature bassist Brandon Michael. “Musically, Brandon brings a huge new dimension,” vocalist Riley McShane enthuses. “He has this wide breadth of music knowledge and stylistic proficiency that he draws from with excellent taste, and this makes a lot of the songs on Apoptosis come to life.” The record also features a guest appearance by classical guitarist Christina Sandsengen, who duets with guitarist Greg Burgess on “Colors Of The Currents.”
“On this record, I was more open to new ideas that we might not have used in past,” states guitarist Michael Stancel. “Rather than deleting something because ‘it’s not ALLEGAEON-y enough,’ I would take a step back and see if that idea fit the song and decide if it was worth keeping. With that mentality came some of my favorite songs, because I was less worried about if it fit into our old sound.” This statement is borne out across the whole album, which while very much embodying the core ALLEGAEON sound that has drawn fans in over the course of their impressive career, it pushes into new territory, and does so with unerring confidence.
“Thematically, this record is all about contrast, and the music reflects that perfectly,” says McShane. “The vocals are heavier than ever, but there are also more clean sections. The drums are faster than ever but also more dynamic, and the guitar playing is lower and slower than on most previous albums, but also provides long, melodic and beautiful sections throughout.”
To preview and purchase Apoptosis, visit: http://metalblade.com/allegaeon.
U.S. Progressive extreme metal masters FALLUJAH and Icelandic wrecking crew UNE MISÈRE have teamed up with Hotel Radio to stream their sets live from The Underworld in Camden, London on January 21st. The bands are supporting melodic death metallers DARKEST HOUR, who will also be streaming their set from the iconic London venue.
FALLUJAH are promoting their barnstorming 4th album ‘Undying Light’ (released in March last year), while UNE MISÈRE are showcasing their critically-acclaimed freshly-unleashed debut ‘Sermon’.
Tune in at 8:55pm GMT | 9:55pm CET | 12:55pm PDT to watch FALLUJAH live:
And at 7:15pm GMT | 8:15pm CET | 11:15am PDT to watch UNE MISÈRE live:
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 