How Fallujah Wrote Xenotaph: Kyle Breaks Down Progressive Death Metal Writing

Writing a progressive death metal album might not be the easiest thing. But what might even be harder is when you join the band as the vocalist in the middle of the writing process, doing what you can to add your voice to the structure that is already there. That is what happened to Kyle from Fallujah when the band wrote Empyrean in 2022.

But now with a new album coming out, Kyle had a chance to be a part of the writing process from the beginning. This led the album to be a lot more special for Kyle, and showed another moment of growth for this progressive death metal band's sound.

Therefore, Kyle from Fallujah joins the podcast today! With the brand new album Xenotaph releasing on June 13th, 2025, we dive deep into the album with Kyle to show you the inside scoop of how Xenotaph was made. On this episode, we talk about:

- Why this album is special for Kyle, stemming from his first experience writing with the band when the album structure was already completed, now to writing Xenotaph with his full influence attached from the beginning.

- The writing process on Xenotaph, and how the band used deliberate inspiration from their favorite musicians to understand the music they wanted to make, and recreate that feeling of joy when they were listening to their favorite bands for the first time.

- Why releasing songs in albums is still a thing in the streaming world and single-dominated industry, specifically when it comes to rock and metal fans.

This is a great episode to get an inside look at Fallujah's next chapter. Tap the subscribe button because these episodes are going to keep coming.

Find Fallujah Online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fallujahofficial

Twitter: https://x.com/Fallujahband

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fallujahsf/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FallujahOFFICIAL

Merch: https://shop.nuclearblast.com/collections/fallujah?srsltid=AfmBOorXXY_mOmvgN9lDDGyUgcrqQil1JBr5Pk-F82xVAkSZqTpHqQvM

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3C5R32AIZlLfMa3uxLEYrU?si=PdV0AaVvT_iTUkActGOLOw

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/fallujah/474676502

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Welcome: (0:00)

Kyle is Here... and What Announcement?: (1:10)

Why Xenotaph is So Speical for Kyle?: (5:59)

How Xenotaph was Written: (16:46)

Understanding "Deliberate Inspiration": (23:26)

The Most Difficult Song to Write on Xenotaph: (30:00)

Kyle's Most Anticipated Release Day Song: (34:20)

Why Metal Fans will Keep Albums Alive: (41:23)

New Artists to Check Out: (49:20)

Kevin's Final Thought; More Emotional Investment Comes at the Start of the Creative Process:...