Pallbearer Reveal Art and Track Details for Heartless
Particulars have begun to surface regarding Pallbearer‘s third album, Heartless. Art and tracks — you know the drill. First there was the album announcement last month, and now we have the cover and tracklisting. Soon audio premieres will start through the broader media websites, who’ll pad their underground cred by celebrating a doom band while exposing the Arkansas four-piece to a wider public; win-win. Let’s say three songs out one at a time and then a full-album stream? Then more tour dates once the record’s out March 24 via Profound Lore, because as ever, one can expect Pallbearer to bust their collective ass on the road, and maybe a video or something like that. Then tour tour tour and that’s how it is. Like I said, you know the drill. It’s the modern album cycle. Half of you are in one part of it or another, I’d wager.
And nothing against it. Pallbearer’s Heartless will no doubt be one of 2017’s biggest releases in doom and likely under the wider sphere of metal as a whole. They’re due for that kind of ascent. So only right it should be done up with maximum ceremony. The PR wire explains why:
PALLBEARER UNVEIL DETAILS FOR THEIR HEARTLESS LP, DUE OUT MARCH 24th FROM PROFOUND LORE
Progressive doom giants Pallbearer have returned with their third album: a 7-song collection of monumental rock music titled Heartless, which will be released March 24th from Profound Lore in North America (in Europe from Nuclear Blast Entertainment). Pallbearer recorded Heartless on analog tape at Fellowship Hall Sound in their hometown of Little Rock, AR, and mixed it with Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool, Melvins, Soundgarden) in summer of 2016. The end result is an album grander in scope than anything they’ve released prior, showcasing a natural progression that melds higher technicality and more ambitious structures with Pallbearer’s most immediate hooks to date.
On Heartless, Pallbearer offer a complex sonic architecture that weaves together the spacious exploratory elements of classic prog, the raw anthemics of 90’s alt-rock, and stretches of black-lit proto-metal. Lyrics about mortality, life, and love are set to sharp melodies and pristine three-part harmonies. Vocalist and guitarist Brett Campbell has always been a strong, assured singer, and on Heartless, his work is especially stunning. Written by Campbell and bassist/secondary vocalist Joseph D Rowland, the words have moved from the metaphysical to something more grounded. As the group explains: “Instead of staring into to the void—both above and within—Heartless concentrates its power on a grim reality. Our lives, our homes and our world are all plumbing the depths of utter darkness, as we seek to find any shred of hope we can.”
By fusing their widest musical palette to date, Pallbearer make the kind of heavy rock that will appeal to diehards, but could also find the group crossing over into newer territories and fanbases. After having helped revitalize doom metal, it almost feels like they’ve gone and set their sights on rock and roll itself. Which doesn’t seem at all impossible on the back of a record like Heartless.
See Pallbearer on tour in support of Heartless in February and March (dates below with more to surface) and look for song premieres, pre-orders and more information from Profound Lore to be posted soon.
Heartless, track listing:
1. I Saw the End
2. Thorns
3. Lie of Survival
4. Dancing in Madness
5. Cruel Road
6. Heartless
7. A Plea for Understanding
Pallbearer is:
Brett Campbell – guitar, vocals
Devin Holt – guitar, vocals
Mark Lierly – drums
Joseph D. Rowland – bass, vocals
PALLBEARER, ON TOUR:
February 25 Austin, TX @ Barracuda *
March 22 Little Rock, AR @ Revolution Music Room
March 23 Nashville, TN @ The End
March 25 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
March 28 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
March 29 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
March 31 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
* w/ The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
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