Bringing something heartbreakingly relatable and poetic, Pallbearer has released their fifth studio album, Mind Burns Alive.  Their signature epic doom metal sound is ever present but combined here with dreamy interludes, passionate instrumentals, and lamenting vocals. The sound is crisp with each element easily heard and the vocals turned up to highlight the potency of the lyrics. The music and lyrics center on themes of isolation, trauma, and mental breakdown, while illuminated with moments of hope through redemption and the quiet, gnawing beauty of escape.  This album is one that feels to have been building within Pallbearer for years, awaiting the right time to come to the surface and that time has finally arrived.

Mind Burns Alive opens with reverberating meditative guitar before filtered vocals are introduced sounding like an echoing memory before they are brought to the forefront and percussion is added.  This quietly contemplative track “Where the Light Fades” beautifully introduces the album.  Synths are also heard here adding to the almost unearthly and introspective feeling kicking things off and setting the tone.  “Endless Place” was the first single released from Mind Burns Alive and introduces guest saxophone by Norman Williamson.  This is the longest song on the album and the most diverse.  It opens with a simple acoustic guitar melody that is soon backed by synth tones and floats along before the heaviness of percussion, doom-laden guitars, and vocals burst in.  A monumental instrumental break partway through introduces sax with a peaceful melody before spiraling down into darkness and chaos and a hammering, cyclical finish.  The album ends with another longer piece “With Disease” which crushes with a powerful heaviness and darkness ending on an ominous note, leaving listeners to pensively reflect.

Brett Campbell’s solo vocals on tracks like “Where the Light Fades” and “Signals” ring out with quieter instrumental backing intensifying the emotion behind them and creating a feeling of vulnerability.  There is a cinematic feeling to Mind Burns Alive without feeling overly dramatic.  The raw emotions heard and felt in the lyrics are genuine and perfectly emphasized by the music.  Bassist and vocalist Joseph D. Rowland describes the album as “an exploration of fate; when you are deceived by your own instincts and internal voice.”  Campbell adds that “these songs are vignettes which tell the stories of people who deal with myriad sicknesses of the spirit. These are illnesses communicated by the world we live in, and the subjects are the symptoms of its disease.” The lyrics to every song on the album are either written by Campbell, Rowland, or by the two together.

Creating something a little different, the tracks feel wider and more sonic capitalizing on the impact of utilizing pauses and quiet.  There are more acoustic moments, soloing moments, and an overall bare and stripped down feeling adhering to the themes of the album.  There is still plenty of heaviness but there is an exploration of sound to be appreciated.  

It has been about four years since Pallbearer’s last album and they always seem to come through at the right times to offer catharsis.  Mind Burns Alive is perhaps their most artistic endeavor and the band’s creativity and passion shines through each note.  Their talents never cease to amaze me and I believe this album will make an appearance on many end of year lists (mine included).  Pallbearer is embarking on a North American tour this summer and I immediately snagged tickets to see them again in Chicago.  Hearing these songs live must be an incredibly moving and powerful experience and I cannot wait.  Until then, I will continue to take in Mind Burns Alive through my headphones.

— Angela

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Mind Burns Alive is available now via Nuclear Blast.  For more information on Pallbearer, visit their official website.