When you think of Arkansas chances are it will conjure up images of the idyllic American south. That's where Pallbearer come in to ruin it all. This Little Rock quartet peddle the suffocating gloom of doom metal.
Pallbearer's 2012 debut album, Sorrow and Extinction, was heralded as a shot in the arm for this notoriously mopey genre, so what do they bring to the table with album number two, the imposingly titled Foundations of Burden?? The key to the band's sound is the incense and witchcraft of heavy metal circa 1975 - beefed up with modern technology and intensity.
Much like their ancestors in Black Sabbath and Pentagram, these guys know how to flesh out the longer compositions until they are absolutely spell-binding. The cornerstones of the album are the four tracks that crack the ten-minute barrier. 'Worlds Apart' and 'The Ghost I Used to Be' vie for your attention and adoration.
Soul-scourging riffs are stacked end-on-end creating a deathly grind that will either leave you running for cover or embracing the void. Not even the brief tenderness of 'Ashes' can lighten to mood for long although the respite is welcome. If you are looking for a swinging good time then this might not be for you, but if it's a journey to the dark side you seek then strap on in for Foundations of Burden.
