Pallbearer - Heartless (2017)

Formed in 2008, Little Rock, Arkansas quartet Pallbearer unleashed their penchant for heaviness on unsuspecting ears with their monstrously thick take on classic doom metal. With a sound rooted in the slow, riff-centric traditions laid down by Black Sabbath, the band takes a fairly straightforward approach to doom, forming layers of sludgy guitars into an impossibly thick wall of oppressive bleakness that envelops the listener. With a lineup consisting of Brett Campbell (guitars/vocals), Devin Holt (guitars), Joseph D. Rowland (bass), and Chuck Schaaf (drums), Pallbearer's 2010 demo gained the attention of label Profound Lore, which released their proper full-length debut, Sorrow and Extinction, in 2012. A follow-up, Foundations of Burden, arrived in 2014, with Mark Lierly replacing Schaaf on drums. Produced by Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Swans, Sleep), the record was greeted with enthusiasm from both the metal and mainstream rock press. The band toured internationally for the next year-and-a-half, playing headliners and support shows in clubs, theaters, and large festivals. The three-track Fear & Fury EP followed in 2016. With a more hook-laden -- but no less heavy -- sound, it revealed the band's musical progression. They spent the remainder of the summer recording their third full-length studio date. Self-produced and recorded to analog tape at Fellowship Hall Sound in Little Rock, it was mixed by Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool, Melvins, Soundgarden). Titled Heartless, it was issued by Profound Lore in early 2017. ~ Gregory Heaney