Pallbearer – Foundations of Burden

Building a Foundation with Fundimentals

Hailing from Little Rock Arkansas, Pallbearer have been bringing their brand of southern doom to the masses since 2010. With critical acclaim from both the underground and mainstream press for their debut, Sorrow and Extinction the boys are back with their sophomore release, Foundations of Burden. which has already been hailed as some of the best new music of the year. Suffice it to say, the album doesn’t disappoint.

The first track, “Worlds Apart,” moves from the first second. It slowly chugs along for all ten minutes. It’s a fantastic song and although it seems to be longer than most (nearly three times as long as your average rock song) it is well written and brings the heavy. The second track, “Foundations,” has one of the best riffs this year. A headbanging gem, the vocal has an early Sabbath vibe with delayed vocals and palm muted guitars. It’s another opus, coming in at just over eight minutes, and is worth every doomed second. It’ s no wonder that Pitchfork gave this album an eight out of ten. It’s hitting on all cylinders.

“Watcher in the Dark,” the album’s third track, sounds more like a continuation of Foundations than a track that sits on its own merits. That’s how a great album is supposed to work — to be experienced in one solid listen. Each song flows into the next and makes it one clear vision. It’s well executed. These guys really nailed it.

One of the trademarks of a great record is its ability to gather people from all musical tastes to converge to it. Like moths to a flame, Foundations of Burden is a similar kind of album. From the very first note of the first track, worlds apart, we are truly mesmerized by how well this music is executed. It looks as though Pallbearer will only be putting their competition in the grave.