20 Best Metal Albums Of 2017 (So Far)

Pallbearer's third album, Heartless, is an experience laden with both earth-shattering doom and ridiculous levels of progressive rock songwriting.

How ridiculous is it? Well, despite only having seven tracks, Heartless is over an hour long. The melancholic "Dancing in Madness" and the closing "A Plea for Understanding" clock in at twelve minutes each, with the other five tracks on the record not falling far short of the same mark.

And, despite its amazing song lengths, the tracks all work to perfection, at times feeling reminiscent of the same groggy glory as Crack the Skye (2009)-era Mastodon or Yellow & Green (2012) by Baroness.

Truly, Heartless is a record that takes its time, exploring every musical moment to its fullest potential without stretching it out to the point of boredom. It hits just the right points at just the right times, changing its progressions at exactly the correct moment to keep it continually fresh and engaging.