Pallbearer’s Joseph D. Rowland discusses ‘Mind Burns Alive’ and preparations for the North American Tour

Pallbearer, the North American doom metal band, have once again captured the attention of the music industry with their latest release, Mind Burns Alive. Known for their emotive music that delves into the darker realms of human experience, Pallbearer have established a distinctive sound that merges the somber tonality of doom metal with intricate melodic layers. Their fifth studio album comes after a series of challenging production delays and promises to be a profound exploration of isolation, trauma, and the possibility of redemption. Joseph D. Rowland, bass player and vocalist, shared insights into their evolving sound and the complexities of their newest work during a recent interview with Bass Empire.

When asked about his current gear setup, Rowland detailed his preferences and modifications: “My main bass is a Fender American Professional Series Precision, but I have a handful of other Player Series/Mexican Fender Precision and Jazz basses that I occasionally will substitute into play. Most of them have custom-wound Avedissian pickups installed. For live performances, my current setup for the upcoming tour will consist of a Verellen Meatsmoke and Traynor YBA-3 pushing a Greenboy Dually-inspired cab by Bear Amplifiers, and an Ampeg 6×10, respectively. My pedalboard currently features a Lehle volume pedal, UAFX LA-2A and 1176 compressors, a Solidgold FX Beta preamp, a Way Huge Pork & Pickle in fuzz mode, Catalinbread SFT MK1 overdrive, Strymon Deco, which I use for a flange effect and a ‘dirty clean’ sound, and lastly a Meris Mercury 7 Reverb pedal. All of this is controlled by a Boss ES-5 switcher. My studio setup pretty much varies song by song. I used the EQD Hoof or a Bear Amplifiers Lucifuzz for most of the heavy tones on ‘Mind Burns Alive’, through various amplifiers, and even amp modellers for some parts of the album. Some of the cleaner tones on the record were achieved using a Groove Tubes Brick tube DI into various rack compressors in my studio, primarily an Audioscape 1176 Rev F and a Buzz Audio Essence opto compressor.”

Discussing the technical aspects of recording the single Endless Place, which features an unexpected saxophone solo, Rowland explained, “The saxophone was actually recorded after all the bass tracking had been completed. I did the engineering for both, so I did however print some FX layers into Pro Tools for both the bass and sax, just to help give them their own sense of space and personality. I used the Yamaha SPX90 on the ‘Symphonic’ algorithm to give the bass a different sort of hue and dimension during the saxophone solo, which was a trick I picked up from Randall Dunn during our session on our last record. It’s a unique effect and sounds very futuristic to my ear.”

The production of Mind Burns Alive was marked by a commitment to achieving a textured sound. Rowland highlighted some of the techniques used to enhance the bass tracks: “I don’t think I did anything too unconventional to any of the bass tracks, mostly just reamping using some favourite recording chains, which was typically EV Re-20 > Electrodyne 501 mic pre > Audioscape 1176 compressor > Iron Age Audioworks H9 EQ. There’s a setting I like to use on the 1176, by pushing in both the 4:1 and the 12:1 buttons; it pins the bass signal in place and adds some extra grit, but does it without sounding artificial – it just becomes part of the bass tone. From there, I boost the mids and the low end with the H9, which is a Helios 69 style EQ. This helps me achieve the bass sound I hear in my head.”

“In the lead-up to the tour, we’re doing pre-production sessions, listening to our live rigs with the microphones that will be used on them on stage.”

With the Temporary Spaces North American Tour on the horizon, Rowland shared how the band prepares for the varying dynamics of live performances. “In the lead-up to the tour, we’re doing pre-production sessions, listening to our live rigs with the microphones that will be used on them on stage, and meticulously tweaking all the effects and gain-staging so we can replicate a consistent sonic experience night-in and night-out. It won’t be a 1:1 replica of the studio sound, but it’s our goal to make it sound as dialled and massive as possible,” he said.

Pallbearer’s narrative-driven and sonically rich new album, Mind Burns Alive, is now available for purchase.