Ten years can feel like a lifetime in metal, especially when that time includes a near-fatal accident, a coma, and the loss of a limb. But Montreal’s Fallstaf, the city’s cult brass-infused metal act, isn’t done yet. The band has returned with Ode to The Dead, a seven-track album that channels survival, grief, and rebirth through crushing riffs and screaming trombone.
Fallstaf first turned heads in 2011 with Bastard Son of a Pure Breed, a debut that fused progressive metal with brass instrumentation and a stage presence that included a masked trombonist in a full suit. Produced by Kevin Jardine of Slaves on Dope, the album earned them a devoted following in Montreal’s underground. But in 2016, frontman IANN suffered a catastrophic accident that left him in a coma with multiple injuries, ultimately losing his leg. The band dissolved. Nearly a decade later, they’ve reunited with Jardine to create something rawer and more personal than anything they’ve done before.
Ode to The Dead opens with Sunless Friday, a chilling retelling of IANN’s accident, before moving through themes of depression, mortality, and Montreal’s mafia history on tracks like Battered Soul and Kings of the West Side. The title track honours lost friends with the refrain that “they walk among us,” while the closer, The Burden, confronts the weight of cancer with sludge-heavy riffs and mournful brass. The album artwork, a layered skull photograph taken by IANN himself, reflects the darkness without tipping into exploitation. Musically, the band has evolved, pulling from groove metal, metalcore, and hardcore influences while keeping their signature brass attack intact.
Fallstaf plans to return to the stage in 2026, bringing back their high-energy spectacle: suits, ties, a masked brass player, and a frontman with a robotic leg.
Ode to The Dead is out now on all streaming platforms, with a limited coffin-shaped USB edition available for collectors.
Listen below:
Track Listing:
1. Sunless Friday – 2:57
2. Ode to the Dead – 3:27
3. Battered Soul – 3:40
4. Kings of the West Side – 3:31
5. Under the Same Sky – 3:31
6. Bastard Son – 3:45
7. The Burden – 4:41
Album length: 25:37
Album Credits:
Songs performed by: FALLSTAF
Songs written by: Ian Lavoie/Kevin Jardine
Produced by: Kevin Jardine
Mixed by: Kevin Jardine
Mastered by: Kevin Jardine
Album artwork by: Ian Lavoie
MAPL – Canadian Content
BAND LINE UP:
SIMM / Guitars
RICKK / Horns
IANN / Vocals
GOYY / Bass
MATT / Drums
More info:
https://www.facebook.com/fallstafmontrealbrassmetal | https://www.instagram.com/fallstafmontreal/
Photo: Sébastien Roy
Share this :
