After a lengthy hiatus, Blessthefall have rediscovered the passion that made them metalcore contenders
Words by Felix Bartlett | Sep 05, 2025
After seven years in the wilderness, Arizona metalcore veterans Blessthefall have emerged from their indefinite hiatus with something to prove. Their latest offering, Gallows, arrives at a crucial juncture for a band that once stood among metalcore’s elite but has spent the better part of a decade struggling to recapture their former glory. The question looming over this comeback wasn’t whether they could still write heavy music, it was whether they could still write music that mattered.
The answer, thankfully, is a resounding yes, though it takes some patience to get there.
Gallows opens with the familiar Blessthefall formula that fans have come to expect over their two-decade career. “Mallxcore” and “Wake The Dead” serve as competent if unremarkable statements of intent, showcasing the interplay between Jared Warth’s screams and Beau Bokan’s soaring cleans that has defined their sound since 2008. These early tracks feel somewhat workmanlike, technically proficient but lacking the spark that made albums like Witness and Hollow Bodies so compelling.
However, something shifts around the album’s midpoint. The title track “Gallows” signals a recalibration in both attitude and execution. Here, the band sounds less concerned with meeting expectations and more focused on unleashing the pent-up energy of their extended break. The track possesses a devil-may-care intensity that had been missing from their previous efforts, complete with a drum solo that adds welcome textural variety to their typically straightforward approach.
This newfound confidence fills the album’s latter half, transforming what could have been a predictable reunion record into something genuinely exciting. “Light The Flame” demonstrates that even their more radio-friendly moments can carry real weight when delivered with conviction. Meanwhile, collaborations with Alpha Wolf’s Lochie Keogh on “Drag Me Under” and Story of the Year’s Dan Marsala on “Fell So Hard, Felt So Right” feel organic rather than forced, adding fresh perspectives without compromising the band’s core identity.
The album’s most impressive achievement is how it balances Blessthefall’s trademark melodic accessibility with a renewed commitment to heaviness. Songs like “Y.S.A.B.” and the closing “This Ends With Us” showcase a band that can still deliver crushing breakdowns while maintaining the anthemic choruses that made them scene favourites in the first place. Bokan’s clean vocals remain as polished as ever, but they’re deployed with more strategic purpose, creating space for Warth’s harsh vocals to truly shine.
If there’s a criticism to be made, it’s that Gallows feels like an album written chronologically, with its strongest material concentrated in the back half. The opening tracks, while solid, lack the urgency and creativity displayed later in the runtime. Additionally, the band’s reluctance to fully abandon their clean vocal approach, while understandable, occasionally prevents them from exploring the full potential of their heavier impulses.
Gallows ultimately succeeds as both a statement of artistic renewal and a reminder of why Blessthefall commanded respect in metalcore’s golden era. It’s not a revolutionary record, but it doesn’t need to be. Instead, it’s the sound of a band that has rediscovered what made them special in the first place: the ability to craft songs that hit hard emotionally and sonically while never sacrificing the hooks that keep listeners coming back.
After years of uncertainty, Blessthefall have returned with their best album in nearly a decade. For longtime fans, Gallows represents a welcome homecoming. For newcomers, it’s an ideal entry point into what made this band matter in the first place.
Verdict: 💀💀💀
For fans of: The Devil Wears Prada, Asking Alexandria, The Amity Affliction
Gallows is released on September 5 via Rise Records
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