Album review: Employed To Serve – Fallen Star

Employed To Serve have a flag in one hand and a mallet in the other. They’ve always been true champions of the British metal underground with a staunch DIY ethos (proud habit of building up others), but now, on album five, they’re shattering the ceiling above them. Armed with a bold new aesthetic, they’re eyeing massive rooms with some truly gravity-defying songs in their arsenal, but crucially, their spirit glows as brightly as ever. This is arena metal as only ETS could do it.

Then again, they’ve not just levelled up – they’ve destroyed any pre-existing frontiers to their sound. The pulverising opener Treachery is a natural bridge between their previous album, 2021’s Conquering, and this one, except its sense of savagery feels heightened. Later, the iridescent title-track coalesces their own ferocity with the atmospheric elegance of Rolo Tomassi, while the electronic drum beat pulsing through Breaks Me Down’s first verse is almost destabilising. It sounds like something they’d never attempt, yet it works. Once its lacerating riff cuts through, it doesn’t feel like foreign territory after all.

Adding to their ambition is a dreamy line-up of guests. The gloriously inhuman screeches of Lorna Shore’s Will Ramos transform Atonement into something larger-than-life (and guitarist and vocalist Sammy Urwin’s almost grandiose soloing is gloriously outrageous). Later, Svalbard’s Serena Cherry’s gentle voice beautifully contrasts vocalist Justine Jones’ guttural screams on the mercurial Last Laugh. Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach is a natural fit for the infernal Whose Side Are You On? and is passed the mic for a positively bloodthirsty mosh call: 'When push comes to shove, you’ll be the first one off the edge.'

Parts of this record blaze with self-assurance and others are laden with pain. What binds all these songs, however, is a sense of jubilance – it’s an exhilarating listen because the band are exhilarated themselves making it. In a way, it’s a love letter to metal, their scene and their community, a reminder that however much they grow from this point forward, their sheer love of what they do, as well as their character and integrity, remains intact. In that sense, this is a heroic album.

Verdict: 5/5

For fans of: Trivium, In Flames, Rolo Tomassi

Fallen Star is released on April 25 via Spinefarm