When we left off with the first part of my review of this show day, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I had just finished meeting At The Gates at their in-store appearance at Vacation Vinyl on Sunset Boulevard before their headlining gig at The Wiltern Theater with Converge, Pallbearer, and Vallenfyre.

It was nearly 5:30PM when we left Vacation and Vallenfyre was to go on first at 7:00PM sharp, so we figured we’d grab some grub at the Denny’s next door before heading on in to the venue. After acquiring said sustenance, we walked next door under the marquee of the gorgeous landmark Wiltern Theater, cleared security, and headed inside with 10 minutes to spare before the show began. Just enough time for a stop by the merch booth to check out the wares. I have to say that I was heavily impressed that every t-shirt from all 4 bands was priced at $20, no more, no less. Converge had so many amazing-looking designs that it was hard to pick one! There were of course pricier items like a really cool At The Gates hoodie featuring the artwork from their new album At War With Reality for $40 as well as some cheaper items such as hats and posters.

When At The Gates announced that they were working on their first album in nearly two decades, hardcore fans such as myself were both excited and a bit apprehensive. They had, after all, gone out on a high note with their 1995 masterpiece Slaughter of the Soul. So imagine our collective sigh of relief when At War With Reality was released in late October of last year and picked up right where its predecessor had left off. The album was so amazing, in fact, that it ended up tied for the number one spot on my Best Metal Albums of 2014 list. Adding to that rush of excitement, it was announced not long after the album’s release that the band would be touring North America in the Spring of 2015 headlining the Decibel Magazine Tour and they would be bringing along three of the most kick-ass bands on the planet to boot. At The Gates, Converge, Pallbearer and Vallenfyre all on the same bill? The wait until March would surely kill me!

Next Tuesday, August 19th, Epic Lore records will release the crushing sophomore album by Little Rock Doom metal band Pallbearer. But you can check out Foundations of Burden in its entirety thanks to our pals over at Pitchfork. They are streaming the entire record for a limited time.

On August 19, 2014, Little Rock doom metal purveyors Pallbearer will release their second album Foundations of Burden on Profound Lore Records. The band have just released the first track from the record “The Ghost I Used to Be” via Soundcloud, which you can listen to in full here below.

If the rest of the album is even close to being as crushing as this, I would say that it will be landing very high on my “Best of 2014 list.” The band’s debut album, Sorrow and Extinction, made SPIN Magazine’s list of the best albums of 2012 and was named among the best new music by Pitchfork.