50 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums Of 2017

A grungy powerhouse of harmonic, progressive sludge, the third album from American doom maestros Pallbearer is a downtrodden yet fanciful affair.

While Heartless’s running time is filled with some of the lowest tuned rhythm guitars to grace metal in 2017, channelling titans from Black Sabbath to Sleep, its song-writing is exciting and experimental, ranging from five-and-a-half-minute rockers like the opening duo of “I Saw the End” and “Thorns” to grandiose suites double that length.

The quiet nihilism of the closing opus “A Plea for Understanding” and the acoustic interludes of the title track are just some of the eclecticism that Pallbearer offer on their hour-plus slice of despondent loveliness, but it is what knits those moments together that ensures Heartless’s spot on this list.

The clean yet dark vocals of frontman Brett Campbell weave through the record’s slow rhythms, while both Campbell and his co-guitarist Devin Holt lay out both down-tuned heaviness and measured, harmonic leads, with the album’s shredding ranging from Paradise Lost to a slow-paced In Flames.

It’s slow, gritty and dissonant as all hell. But when you’re making a progressive doom rock record, that’s exactly what you should aim for!