Pallbearer
"Foundations Of Burden"
Label: Profound Lore
Release: 25 August 2014
DEUTSCH
DEUTSCH
Ende August ist es endlich soweit! Zwei Jahre nach "Sorrow and Extinction" lassen PALLBEARER das bislang kraftvollste und fesselndste Kapitel in der Bandgeschichte auf die Menscheit los. "Foundations Of Burden" gleicht einem Triumphzug der in Arkansas beheimateten Band, mit dessen Songs sie ihr eigenes musikalisches Universum über die Grenzen des Heavy Metal hinaus weiter ausbauen und die Messlatte für alle, die im stilistischen Fahrwasser schippern, kaum erreichbar hoch auflegt.
Letzten Winter legte Billy Anderson in Portland seine goldenen Hände an die Produktion des Albums an, dessen Songs mit melodischer Komplexität und schwerster, zerstörerischer Melancholie aufwarten, die den trostlosen Weg von PALLBEARER auf brillante Weise weiter schmieden. Eindeutig im Heavy Metal verwurzelt, balanciert die Musik fernab jedweder Genre-Dynamiken an der Schwelle zur erbarmungslosen Leere.
Anstatt sich einfach in Sicherheit zu wiegen und die Erwartungen der Hörer zu erfüllen, tauchen PALLBEARER für "Foundations Of Burden" noch tiefer in ihre melodiöse Welt ein, indem Rowland den Klangstrukturen seinen beeindruckenden Gesang hinzufügt, der PALLBEARERs Musik um eine authentische, intuitive Note und gleichermaßen unwiderstehliche wie unbarmherzig fesselnde Dimension erweitert.
Anstatt sich einfach in Sicherheit zu wiegen und die Erwartungen der Hörer zu erfüllen, tauchen PALLBEARER für "Foundations Of Burden" noch tiefer in ihre melodiöse Welt ein, indem Rowland den Klangstrukturen seinen beeindruckenden Gesang hinzufügt, der PALLBEARERs Musik um eine authentische, intuitive Note und gleichermaßen unwiderstehliche wie unbarmherzig fesselnde Dimension erweitert.
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ENGLISH
Produced and mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, etc) in Portland, OR in the late winter of last year, the album evokes a sonic consciousness of melodic complexity with each song carrying a weight of melancholic devastation that sees PALLBEARER forging it's own brilliantly desolate path that, while firmly rooted in heavy metal, reaches far beyond any genre dynamic by crafting music that seeks to balance itself at the very threshold of an unforgiving void.
Initially formed in 2008, by Joseph D. Rowland (bass) and Brett Campbell (vocals/guitars), PALLBEARER grew from the fertile underground metal scene of Little Rock, Arkansas. A year later, joined by guitarist Devin Holt and (since departed) drummer Zach Stine, the four members quickly recorded the band's first demo. These three tracks garnered well-deserved attention, with critics and fans taking notice of what could only be described as a wholly singular sound from the promising band.
PALLBEARER's debut full-length "Sorrow and Extinction" was released in early 2012. At just under fifty minutes, the album's five tracks capitalised on the primal clout of the band's demo, but here the songs were freed from reliance on volume as the music wavered beautifully between subdued introspection and towering aural force. Released by the well-respected Canadian indie metal label, Profound Lore, "Sorrow and Extinction" instantly made waves among listeners and critics who found Pallbearer's compositional paradox of vulnerability and might unparalleled in a metal world replete with imitators.
"Sorrow and Extinction" proved to be an unequivocal masterpiece in any genre of music and, most importantly, compelled PALLBEARER to reach even further creatively for what would come next. 2012 would also see the addition of drummer Mark Lierly, adding further depth to the already immense and mercurial sound the band had pioneered. Rather than settle themselves in the convenient safety of listener expectation, PALLBEARER delve even deeper into melodic contexts for "Foundations of Burden", with Rowland now adding his own impressive vocalisations to the sonic texture. This new vocal dynamic brings an authentically visceral component to PALLBEARER's music that, while giving credence to their metal foundations, adds a new and compelling dimension to music which has long since proved itself to be inexorably captivating.
PALLBEARER is:
Brett Campbell - Lead vocals, guitar
Devin Holt - Guitar, vocals on songs 1 & 3
Joseph D. Rowland - Bass guitar, piano/Rhodes/analog synthesizer, vocals on songs 1, 4, 5
Mark Lierly - Drums.
Photo credit: Diana Lee Zadlo