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PALLBEARER

Mind Burns Alive finds Pallbearer navigating the space between disquiet and serenity with a singular intensity. At times poetic and blistering, their fifth full length is a heartfelt meditation on isolation, trauma and mental breakdown, framed by the possibility of redemption and the quiet, aching beauty of escape.

Musically and lyrically stripped bare and vulnerable, Mind Burns Alive deals in universal themes of loneliness and the feeling of emotionally drowning in a world turning upside down. Bassist/vocalist Joseph D. Rowland describes the album as “an exploration of fate; when you are deceived by your own instincts and internal voice.” Guitarist / vocalist Brett Campbell furthers, “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.” 

While the band's earlier catalog leaned on walls of guitar, massive distortion and piercing vocals, they achieve more on Mind Burns Alive by stripping everything back. These six songs offer a singular perspective into the pain that lies at the heart of everyday experience. Mind Burns Alive is not simply an exposition on those complex feelings. It is the musical intersection where struggle collides with the will to carry on.

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REZN

REZN’s fourth monolithic full length 'Solace' is available now.

The seed for the band’s megaton riffs and psychedelic journeys was planted when guitarist Rob McWilliams and bassist Phil Cangelosi began jamming together at age twelve in the DC commuter town of Leesburg, VA. They relocated to Chicago in 2015, recruited local sound engineer Patrick Dunn on the drums, and invited their friend Spencer Ouellette into the studio to round out their bottom-heavy sound with the hum-and-squall of modular synth.

Their 2020 offering Chaotic Divine showcased their use of gargantuanheaviness and lysergic calm, as well as the band’s penchant for tying the music to a new visual landscape, as they did with Let It Burn and Calm Black Water. It was at this moment that their use of saxophone was more than just a cameo, letting the instrument’s richness shine confidently in the spotlight throughout the record.

With Solace, REZN once again blurs the boundaries of their psych and doom labels by exploring more delicate and introspective emotions in the lyrics and instrumentation, using the feeling of empty space to build into towering moments of maximalist density. “This was the first time we were able to immerse ourselves 24/7 in the studio,” says guitarist and vocalist Rob McWilliams. “We wanted it to push us into new territories musically,but also transform the record into something much bigger than what we initially envisioned.”

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THE KEENING

The Keening—the solo music project of Rebecca Vernon—weaves a web of lush orchestration, American Gothic sensibilities and wintry murder ballads set against a backdrop of dark, shimmering folk. Vernon’s previous band SubRosa echoes in The Keening’s chamber doom, flowing with flute, strings, harp, French horn, piano, organ and hammered dulcimer. Ultra-melodic forays into haunted bogs, endless wells, secret crimes, jeweled cages and the unenviable curse of being a murder witness abound. Dark as this sounds, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Rebecca Vernon was the owner, lead singer, guitarist and primary songwriter of Salt Lake City’s acclaimed SubRosa. She ended that 13-year project in 2018 to focus on The Keening.

Celebrated “Engine-ear” and bassist Billy Anderson collaborated with Vernon and Witch Mountain drummer Nathan Carson as co-producers on the recording of the album. A host of Portland’s finest session musicians lent their talents to the album, including Andrea Morgan of Exulansis on violin. Anderson, Carson, Morgan, and guitarist Christy Cather (Ludicra, Ails) form the nucleus of Vernon’s new live backing band.

The Keening released its debut albumLittle Birdvia Relapse Records in October of 2023. In short order, the live band displayed its formidable stage prowess as direct support to the recently reunited Agalloch at a sold-out show in Portland’s historic Crystal Ballroom. The band’s fifth performance was at Decibel Beer and Metal Fest in Denver, which coincided withLittle Birdappearing at #10 on Decibel Magazine’s annual Top 40 album list.

Now the band is poised to make its European debut on the main stage at Roadburn, followed by a month of dates in support of Bell Witch. An epic US tour in support of Pallbearer will take The Keening to most American markets over the summer of 2024.

Links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify