REVIEW: Employed To Serve - Fallen Star

British metalcore heavyweights Employed To Serve return with their brutal new album Fallen Star. This latest offering marks the Woking five-piece’s fifth studio album and their third release on Spinefarm Records, and it might just be their most confident and cohesive work to date.

In contrast to 2017’s The Warmth of a Dying Sun, Fallen Star moves away from bleak introspection and cathartic anger, instead embracing more positive themes. This new release emphasizes resilience, with the band highlighting the importance of finding inner confidence, staying true to one's beliefs, and the strength of close-knit groups as key focal points. We’re not arguing that the album pulls any punches - the riffs still slam, and the breakdowns still hit like a freight train - but the outlook is undeniably brighter and bolder than ever. It’s an album about pushing through the storm, not succumbing to it.

There’s still the uncompromising heaviness you’d expect from Employed To Serve, but it’s delivered with a sharpened sense of purpose. The guitar work, courtesy of Sammy Urwin, often blends pummelling metalcore grooves with soaring melodic flourishes. At the same time, Justine Jones delivers some of her most commanding vocal performances to date - equal parts fury and focus.

The album is stacked end to end with some incredible guest features. The single ‘Atonement’ features the mighty Will Ramos of Lorna Shore, whose signature guttural vocals add extra weight to the already thunderous track. Yet it’s Will’s clean vocals that truly shine here, in an unexpected but incredible inclusion. Elsewhere, Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach brings a gravelly emotional depth to ‘Whose Side Are You On?’. Simultaneously, Svalbard's Serena Cherry provides a striking contrast to Jones on 'Last Laugh.' Instead of feeling like mere star-powered gimmicks, each guest's presence feels deliberate - enhancing the songs rather than distracting from them.

Both lyrically and musically, this new release doesn’t shy away from the band’s signature aggression. Instead, it refines it. Lewis John’s production is tight, punchy, and polished without sacrificing that raw, razor-sharp edge that’s long been signature to their sound. Guitarist Sammy Urwin’s riffs often veer into melodic territory, offering moments of clarity amid the chaos. Justine Jones remains a commanding presence on vocals, balancing visceral rage with a new-found sense of uplift and resilience.

Employed To Serve have always thrived on intensity, but with Fallen Star, they channel that intensity into something more focused, defiant, and ultimately uplifting. It’s a record that hits just as hard emotionally as it does sonically - a celebration of strength through solidarity and survival. Where previous albums wrestled with despair and frustration, Fallen Star offers resistance and renewal. It’s about survival, self-belief, and the unshakable bond that forms between people who face adversity together. 

This is absolutely the band’s best album to date. Perhaps a bold statement, given the back catalogue full of incredible works, but we stand by it. This career-defining release refines everything they’ve done before while carving out bold new territory. Employed To Serve have long been amongst the UK’s most vital voices in heavy music, and Fallen Star cements their place at the very top of the scene. If you’ve been sleeping on them, now is the time to wake up. In a genre often defined by its darkest moments, Fallen Star is proof that heaviness and hopefulness can go hand in hand.

Score: 8/10

Fallen Star was released on April 25th 2025.

Words: Andrew Nile

Photos: Employed To Serve