Heartless was met with critical acclaim. The album received an average score of 82/100 from 13 reviews on Metacritic , indicating "universal acclaim".[ 3] AllMusic writer Thom Jurek praised the album for being a maturation of Pallbearer's sound, saying that it manages to not forsake the band's origins while still breaking new ground.[ 5] Writing for Exclaim! , Trystan MacDonald said, "Heartless continues to build on the band's reputation as one of the biggest acts in doom metal."[ 8] In a more lukewarm review, Pitchfork contributor Andy O'Connor wrote, "The deep cauldron of metal, prog , and doom influences have so far been a key to Pallbearer's greatness, but their third record fails to piece it all together. They have run up against their limits."[ 12] PopMatters writer Tanner Smith was very positive on Heartless , calling it a sign that Pallbearer will go down as one of the best metal acts of the decade.[ 13]
All songs written and composed by Pallbearer.
Title 1. "I Saw the End" 6:21 2. "Thorns" 5:24 3. "Lie of Survival" 8:25 4. "Dancing in Madness" 11:47 5. "Cruel Road" 7:13 6. "Heartless" 8:09 7. "A Plea for Understanding" 12:40 Total length: 59:59
Japan exclusive bonus disc (Fear and Fury 2016 EP) Title 1. "Fear & Fury" 5:52 2. "Over & Over" (Black Sabbath cover) 6:08 3. "Love You to Death" (Type O Negative cover) 7:23 Total length: 19:23
Pallbearer[ 22]
Brett Campbell – guitar, vocals, synthesizers
Mark Lierly – percussion
Joseph D. Rowland – bass, backing vocals, synthesizers
Devin Holt – guitar, backing vocals
Additional personnel
Jason Weinheimer – engineering
Zach Reeves – engineering
Joe Barresi – mixing
Dave Collins – mastering
Michael Lierly – artwork
^ Ezell, Brice (March 15, 2017). "Pallbearer - Heartless" . Consequence of Sound . Retrieved March 23, 2017 .
^ Smith, Tanner (March 22, 2017). "Pallbearer: Heartless" . Pop Matters . Retrieved March 23, 2017 .
^ a b "Metacritic entry" . Metacritic . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ Evans, Zachary (April 24, 2017). "Review: Pallbearer's titanic and melodic Heartless proves once again that they are at the forefront of the metal genre" . The 405 .
^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Heartless - Pallbearer" . AllMusic . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ Anthony, David (March 24, 2017). "On Heartless, Pallbearer offers up easily digested doom metal" . The A.V. Club .
^ Ezell, Brice (March 16, 2017). "Pallbearer – Heartless" . Consequence of Sound .
^ a b MacDonald, Trystan. "Pallbearer - Heartless" . exclaim.ca . Exclaim! . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ Thomas, Olly (March 8, 2017). "Pallbearer: Heartless". Kerrang! . No. 1661 (11 March 2017 ed.). p. 50.
^ O'Boyle, Tom (March 13, 2017). "Pallbearer - Heartless album review" . Metal Hammer .
^ Snaximus (March 21, 2017). "Pallbearer Deliver a Colorful, '70s-Soaked Psychedelic Trip on Heartless " . MetalSucks .
^ a b O'Connor, Andy. "Pallbearer: Heartless" . pitchfork.com . Pitchfork . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ a b Smith, Tanner. "Pallbearer: Heartless" . popmatters.com . PopMatters . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ "Top 50 Albums of 2017" . Consequence of Sound . Retrieved December 20, 2017 .
^ "Top 40 Best Metal Albums of 2017" . decibelmagazine.com . Decibel . Retrieved December 20, 2017 .
^ "25 Best Metal Albums of 2017" . loudwire.com . Metal Hammer . Retrieved December 20, 2017 .
^ "100 Best Metal Albums of 2017" . rollingstone.com . Metal Hammer . Retrieved December 20, 2017 .
^ "The Best Metal of 2017" . popmatters.com . PopMatters . Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
^ "Columnus Metallicus: The Best Metal Albums of 2017" . thequietus.com . The Quietus . Retrieved December 22, 2017 .
^ "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ Stereogum Staff (December 5, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017" . Stereogum . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ "Heartless Discogs entry (includes liner notes)" . Discogs . Retrieved December 22, 2017 .
^ "Ultratop.be – Pallbearer – Heartless" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pallbearer – Heartless" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved March 31, 2017.
^ "Pallbearer Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved April 4, 2017.