Pallbearer - Heartless
Critic Score
Based on 17 reviews
2017 Ratings: #17 / 940
User Score
Based on 180 ratings
2017 Rank: #322
Liked by 8 people
March 24, 2017 / Release Date
LP / Format
Profound Lore / Label
Doom Metal / Genre
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
PopMatters

This music feels like it’s actively on a search for something and in this way, Pallbearer reaches universality previously hit by artists like the Beatles on Abbey Road or Pink Floyd at their most explorative.

90
The 405

While the biggest standout moments on Heartless are when Pallbearer are at their most towering and melodic, their impact is only so great because of how they are balanced by the album’s heavier spots.

83
Consequence of Sound

If Pallbearer feels the eyes of the metal world upon it, it does a damn good job not showing a lick of sweat. Heartless continues the successes of Sorrow and Extinction and Foundations of Burden, while also incorporating familiar but tasteful sonic flourishes from adjacent genres.

83
A.V. Club

In many ways, Heartless feels like Pallbearer’s prog album, turning down the distortion and allowing itself to wander within the confines of doom.

80
Exclaim!

Heartless presents a broader repertoire of tones and hospitality for melody than the quartet's previous two albums, bridging these various dynamic fluctuations with crushing, palm-muted riffs.

80
The Needle Drop

Little Rock doom outfit Pallbearer returns with more bite and an even greater prog influence on their third album Heartless, their most varied and epic effort yet.

80
AllMusic
Over seven songs that run nearly an hour, Pallbearer reveal more confidence and sophistication than anyone could have expected.
60
Pitchfork

Pallbearer should be commended for making it this far with their sound, but Heartless, their third record, shows that they have run up against their limits.

EasyBakeCoven
93

I don't know if I'll ever come across another record that feels as specifically tailored for me as this one.

exception
84

Pallbearer's near perfect Foundations of Burden is what really got me into doom metal. The band made the heavy guitars and stretched out song lengths accessible to me, and made me appreciate the technical abilities that are necessary to truly pull off a successful album. On Heartless, Pallbearer moved further out of doom metal, and into the realms of progressive and post rock.
Instead of dreary and depressive vocals over classic sludgy instrumentation, the band made a very tasteful transition ... read more

Jlepileo03
83

A pretty beautiful metal album.

Jlepileo03
83

A pretty beautiful metal album.

EasyBakeCoven
93

I don't know if I'll ever come across another record that feels as specifically tailored for me as this one.

gas_souza
75

I Saw the End - 75
Thorns - 75
Lie of Survival - 75
Dancing in Madness - 75
Cruel Road - 70
Heartless - 80
A Plea for Understanding - 75

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Added on: January 4, 2017