Fallen Star

4.25

PICKMETER

4.62

HMB

4.29

CRITICS

band:

Employed To Serve

release date: Apr 25, 2025

label: Spinefarm Records

type: Full-length

HMB´S REVIEW

Since their earliest days on the outskirts of London, Employed To Serve has carried a fierce spark, like a storm brewing on the horizon, guided by those who know exactly where they're headed. Founded by Justine Jones and Sammy Urwin, the British band has traveled an impressive path: from the abrasive chaos of mathcore to a more refined and diverse sound that never lets go of the raw force pulsing at its core. With the release of Fallen Star, they reach a new height in their musical journey.

Listening to Fallen Star feels like being swept into an emotional whirlwind, each track lands like a punch to the chest followed by a disarming embrace. Lewis Johns' production acts like a surgical magnifying glass, revealing every nuance with clarity: from razor-sharp riffs to vocals that shift seamlessly between unfiltered rage and the vulnerability of someone who’s looked pain straight in the eye.

What’s truly striking is the way the album balances heaviness and melody with an almost poetic ease. Tracks like 'Atonement', featuring the visceral presence of Will Ramos Lorna Shore, and 'Whose Side Are You On?', alongside Jesse Leach Killswitch Engage, showcase this duality beautifully, it’s as if chaos and calm are facing each other in the mirror, recognizing themselves. Serena Cherry Svalbard adds an emotional layer in 'Last Laugh' that chills the spine: delicate, but never weak.

More than just a record packed with standout features and stylistic shifts, Fallen Star shines in its thematic and aesthetic cohesion. Everything breathes the same air, even when the sound twists and turns in unexpected ways. The lyrics explore resilience, self-belief, and overcoming adversity, messages that resonate with particular strength in uncertain times like ours.

In the end, Fallen Star is more than an album, it’s a bold statement of power and purpose. A milestone in Employed To Serve’s discography that reaffirms the band as one of the most vital and urgent voices in modern metal. It’s not just about heaviness or technical skill, it’s about feeling every note as if it might be the last.

Review by Troadie - HMB´s Staff