History & Biography The doom metal group was founded in the dubious locality of Arkansas in 2008. The band’s founding members were concurrently in a psychedelic band called Sports. The two were at university together. 2010 Demo ensued. Drummer David Dobbs left and was replaced by Zach Stine. Drummer Zach Stine left and was replaced by Chuck Schaaf. Otherwise, the band’s line-up has been relatively stable. Profound Lore released the group’s debut album two years after the demo. The band handed out a 10” vinyl called Pallbearer Live during its US tour with Royal Thunder in late 2012. The follow-up was issued in the middle of 2014. There was a video for the song Watcher In The Dark..
Heartless had the band on the Nuclear Blast Entertainment groovecore sub-label of Nuclear Blast although North America was still handled by the Profound Lore person.
Western Canada's open air metal festival Farmageddon announced the line-up for its 2015 edition and Pallbearer was billed. Obituary, Pallbearer, Skeletonwitch and Dust Bolt announced a North American tour for 2018. Pallbearer and Yob were touring the USA in 2023. The former act was also playing individual concerts and also appearing at Mutants Of The Monster Fest.
Doom metal band Pallbearer returned with an album called Mind Burns Alive through Nuclear Blast Records in May 2024. Five years in the making, with recording initially slated for 2020, and thwarted yet again in 2022, it was 2023 that saw the band members living locally to one another in Little Rock, USofA for the first time in nine years and recording at their newly constructed studio. The band had a video for the song Endless Place. Temporary Spaces North American Tour launched on June 6th. Openers included Rwake (June 6 to 9; 29), Rezn (June 11 to 29), Inter Arma (July 11 to August 3) with The Keening opening on all dates. The band was also appearing at Stumpfest X on April 11 in Portland, Oregon, The Copenhell Metal Cruise from Oct. 25 to 27 and Nov. 16 at Helldorado in Eindhoven.
Reviews PALLBEARER - MIND BURNS ALIVE - NUCLEAR BLAST 
It is vital to emphasise that Pallbearer’s 2024 album is above average for what it offers the listener and the quality of the music within its chosen subgenre, but the album stylistically is inappropriate for the palate of most metal fans. It is doomy, but it is soft. There is a saxophone solo here too. We’ll get to that again. Before we go on though the CD’s cover is underwhelming no matter whether the band meant to go for minimalism or the aflame effect.
The music is simple and there are a few moments when the fans of that sound could dream of funeral doom, but those are rare moments and Pallbearer is soft to the point of soft rock at times despite the obviously distorted guitars. Where The Light Fades is actually quite poppy and soft and, not for the first or last time, the music and subsequently the words take their time appearing. It is doom, but not so much doom as soft rock with its tranquil mood, kind strumming and unthreatening threnody. The beat picks up, but overall it follows a genuinely lethargic pace. Mind Burns Alive is more proper doomy and the distortion on the strings become more palpable and drags against the melodies. Immediately next, however, it throws a soothing blanket over itself. In fact, Mind Burns Alive’s quiet and the openly poppy melody doesn't confine itself to the more quiet or sedate moments. Signals too is soft and quiet. It obviously made me think of Rush. Endless Place is a ballad ten minutes long. The band made it into a video and the long-haired bass man stands in the centre. It takes will to make a track this long into a video. The mood fits the black and white film, which makes a signature statement. The band's Paradise Lost inspiration is clear, and the clean, and quite mainstream vocals, as well as the clean music, are integral elements. On this song the hard rock and metal fan in me could have done without the Hugh Lewis And The News saxophone. Novembers Doom, Avernus, Anathema, Paradise Lost are comparative names, but perhaps this album presents the band as a more sombre contender that goes further than most in being gentle and temperate. Well, of course there is Opeth out there.
The musicians maintain their composure throughout, and my verdict is an above average sixty for it, but it is fair and true that the band has given up on metal and gone too soft and cuddly with this material. As for the saxophone, I was shaking my head. - Sheila Wes Det
Interviews
|
