Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Pallbearer Carry the September Issue

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

Little Rock doomsayers Pallbearer came out of nowhere to entrance the underground and dominate year-end lists with 2012’s Sorrow and Extinction. MetalSucks was among the first to promise excellence, Axl bought in despite being understandably skeptical of the hype and Decibel feted that fucker with a #5 showing in our Top 40 Albums of 2012, bassist Joseph D. Rowland marveling, “I figured the people into really underground doom metal would dig it, but I guess there was a lot more to it that struck a chord with people. I’ve even had people in their late 50s or 60s tell me it was the first album that affected them in such a way since hearing Sabbath Bloody Sabbath—they hadn’t heard an album that had such a profound effect on them.”

All of which—including the album’s surprising crossover to non-metal audiences—may have gotten a couple false alarms ready to blare for the impending release of sophomore effort Foundations of Burden. Well, the haters are gonna have to soak their heads, because this record is just as heartfelt and towering as its predecessor. Putting Pallbearer on the cover so early in their career is a big deal for us, because, as our editor-in-chief notes in the September ed notes, “Sometimes it’s worked (Baroness, Ghost and In Solitude). Other times, not so much (DragonForce and, of course, Trivium). We like to think that this month’s cover stars have a place alongside the former and not the latter.” J. Bennett’s cover story details the deliberate, thoughtful process behind crafting Foundations with notorious producer Billy Anderson. It’s safe to say they got it right. This is a band whose music is actually played at funerals. That’s authenticity.

The September 2014 issue of Decibel also features Mastodon, Crowbar, and Goatwhore, and can be purchased here… but why not just get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss an issue?