Joseph D. Rowand of Pallbearer’s Top Albums of 2024
(Editor’s note: Looking back on 2024, there were so many good albums released that we decided to reach out to some of today’s artists and get them to weigh in on their favorites. What follows is Pallbearer bassist Joseph Rowand’s ‘Top Albums of 2024’.)
Frail Body — Artificial Bouquet
This album from these seemingly-infatigable road dogs immediately hearkened back to the Level Plane and Robotic Empire Records brand of turn of the century “screamo” that I feverishly sought out during my youth. The modern production touches and and the band’s distillation of savage anguish really provides a gratifying listen for my current self as well.
Thou — Umbilical
After having traversed a variety of stylistic off-shoots and experimental proliferation, it’s cool to hear Thou’s so-called punk record. On a surface level it may still seem like their core sound, but imbued with a constant frenetic angst and motion – spearheaded by Tyler Coburn’s monumental performance on drums.
Zombi — Direct Inject
The cinematic synth-laden masters return with yet another tour-de-force. Despite not being a traditional “heavy” band, this happens to contain some of the duo’s more ominous groove-centric cuts across their entire catalog (as well as a few exceptional downtempo lounge-y numbers.)
Inter Arma — New Heaven
The avant garde RVA troupe returns with perhaps my favorite outing of theirs. As Inter Arma fans have come to expect, T.J. Childers conducts from the chaos behind the drum kit with yet another singular performance. Mike Paparo’s expanded vocal repertoire pushes the envelope in compelling ways, expanding beyond the bestial into a haunted baritone that summons the apparitions of Scott Walker and Leonard Cohen.
Spectral Voice — Sparagmos
This record is filthy and eerie; the recording sounds like it has significantly degenerated at times, giving it the air of having been some newly discovered relic from another era. The unsettling Disembowelment-esque clean melodies and occasional diversions into cult-like spates of world music provide me with an enjoyable twinge of dread.
