“The man who had suffered these monstrous mutilations was alive. At intervals he moved his limbs; he moaned at every breath. He stared blankly into the face of his friend and if touched screamed. In his giant agony he had torn up the ground on which he lay; his clenched hands were full of leaves and twigs and earth. Articulate speech was beyond his power; it was impossible to know if he were sensible to anything but pain. The expression of his face was an appeal; his eyes were full of prayer.” – Ambrose Bierce (1889)
Ambrose Bierce was on the brain last night as I stood less than 10 feet away from Pallbearer’s Sabbath-esque funeral dirge at the Rec Room, because the belief that catharsis can be achieved through the excavation of life’s darkest moments is something that both he and the band have in common. Each note landed to maximum effect and every lyric felt like a window into how metal can be literary while remaining sonically brutal in the most beautiful sense possible.
On record, one can dissect the existential leanings of guitarist/vocalist Brett Campbell and bassist/vocalist Joseph D. Rowland with a clarity that doesn’t necessarily translate to the stage given how often the playing overpowers the singing, so the live show is best experienced on an emotional level. Focus on how the riffs and collective Sturm und Drang chisel their way into the sub-cockle area of your heart, leaving you wondering how you lived so long without this music in your life.
2024’s “Mind Burns Alive” represented an evolution in what fans have come to expect from the Arkansas rockers, but, on this night, we got 2014’s “Foundations of Burden” in its in entirety, which was glorious to behold.
Seismic slabs such as “Watcher in the Dark” and “The Ghost I Used to Be” were flawlessly executed, as guitarist Devin Holt’s Orange amplifier put my earplugs to the test on more than one occasion.
The calendar may read April, but there was nothing spring-like about what the band was creating. Their vibe lent itself to a cold October morning when nature is halfway between life and death, yet you’re determined to find something inspiring among the decay.
Knoll, on other hand, had something else in mind, as their set wasn’t about playing music as much as unleashing forces from Dante’s Inferno upon the gathered. The band’s gothic aesthetic fit the music to a tee and the tightness with which the instruments were woven together made for a slew of incendiary moments.
Vocalist James Eubanks has an unforgettable stage presence with fingernails reminiscent of Robert De Niro in “Angel Heart” and his delivery is so visceral that you have to see it to believe it. He poured himself into the material as if it were the last time he would ever grace the stage and left nothing on the table.
As far as funeral grind bands go, these guys are as good as it gets.
Buffalo-based hardcore act Overgrowth rounded out the lineup with a brief opening salvo that set a menacing DIY tone and laid the groundwork for the chaos to come.
All I can say to the high-profile metal acts rolling through the area in the coming months is that they better bring it, because the bar has been set and it’s not easily adjusted.
https://www.pallbearerdoom.com/
https://knollgrind.bandcamp.com/music
Rat Shovel ep | overgrowth | OVERGROWTH
Music N' Other Drugs 
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