ALBUM REVIEW: Pallbearer – Forgotten Days

Doom Metal titans PALLBEARER are back with their 4th album. Out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

Feedback and rumbling bass opens the album with a foreboding and distorted ugliness that will hopefully be indicative of the heaviness that shall follow. Barren drums pound into life topped by crushing riffs that groove with fearsome energy, crashing cymbals break the tides of dauntingly heavy guitar work to conjure a storm of bleak and yet lively Doom Metal. Melancholic vocals add a psychedelia to the instrumental hooks with that emotive and estranged whimper that Pallbearer have fondly utilised through their career. The bittersweet melancholy of the record is certainly up to par with their three excellent prior records. Murky dissonance adds a far more dystopian touch to the record that is suitably dark for the state of the world, reflecting pure disdainful insight and introspection with a prowess that Pallbearer seem to have been mastering with their growth.

The tone of the record is just as sombre as ever with raunchy riffs and soft, soulful lead work to cascade over punchy bass and minimalistic drums. With such a monstrously eerie instrumental approach, the unique vocals truly take form as some of the best yet from Pallbearer, certainly crafting an original piece of work here that is haunting and emotionally mature. While it will certainly leave you anguished, it cannot be said that the album lacks ferocity as so many of the ideas are delivered with a devastating execution that glistens as some of the better new Doom Metal of 2020, the perfect year for music to convey dismay and sorrow. Do not expect a fun or jolly jaunt of stoner catchiness, this is brooding and miserable in such a powerfully sincere way that it will shake anyone to their core. To compare them to a non-Metal artist, Pallbearer are a band who have always reminded me of The National with their tear-jerking opuses in Doom Metal form, which works perfectly to their favour. One only has to hear a few minutes to be reduced to ash by the bellowing misery.

As the 8 songs progress over their 53 minute running time, once again we see a work that must be appreciated as a whole. Entwining resplendent passages with obliterating heaviness and concocting a tempest of furies and melodies that are as spectral as they are headbang worthy, this is another class piece of Doom Metal from a band who are defining the genre in the 21st century. After the initial pieces plant the seeds of what lies ahead, the memorable songwriting expands on the emotive complexities and growths into a towering monolith of pure desolation. While it may be redundant to compare a bands works, I will freely admit “Sorrow and Extinction” remains my favourite. With that said, this is still definitely a worthwhile release all the same as it belts forth a magnificent energy that is captivatingly honest and mesmerisingly played. A beautifully crafted album that deserves respect and open mindedness as Pallbearer continue to grow as an entity, retaining their unique approach while never giving us the same album twice.

A barren soundscape of dreariness that utilises fantastic instrumentation and vocals to chill all whom dare approach their own demons with this record as a catalyst. Mature emotionally and sonically pleasing, this crushing 4th album shows Pallbearer have not run short of new ideas and grounds to explore. I highly recommend all Doom Metal lovers traverse these deserted plains and meditate with this piece of masterful music. -8/10