Another example of trying, thinking the failure is on my part. Pallbearer put out one of the greatest rock albums of all time (IMHO) with 2017’s Heartless; I still contend “I Saw the End” has one of the truly great metal solos of the 2000s, and both “Dancing in Madness” and the title track show the breadth of the band’s sonic vision. But nothing else truly connected with me, despite owning the original Foundations of Burden on CD as well as all the band’s follow-ups on vinyl. When the 2025 remix came out last year, I made a decision to take one last plunge: maybe the new mix would win me over? Let’s get into it after the jump, and maybe talk about efforts like this in the process.

First, the album itself. According to the vast wonders of the internet, the album was completely remixed and remastered by Mario Quintero (Spotlights) and by Adam Gonsalves, cleaning up some of the muddiness and incorporating—not replacing—a new level of rhythm guitars tracked with the band’s latest gear. There’s also new cover work, replacing the completely (again, IMHO) fine and actually cool original art you can see here. Finally, the band released the verbal caveat of saying this doesn’t replace the original record, but rather is a “new way to experience” it, one which is supposedly closer to the band’s original vision, and not hampered by technical constraints.

It’s all here in the press release, but how does it actually work? Listening to the 1-2 punch of “Worlds Apart” and “Foundations” I can hear a lot more dynamics; the compression essentially turning the original recording into a straight bar is gone, and there’s a low-end growl to the rhythm guitars that wasn’t previously there. Brett Campbell’s vocals are higher in the mix, and sound less processed. I can still hear this distorted rumble from Joseph D. Rowland’s bass, which helps to put some depth into the more explosive moments of the album, like when things get aggressive about 2 minutes into “Watcher in the Dark.” You can judge for yourself by checking out the comparison in the links below:

By the time of “The Ghost I Used to Be” I’ve come around—this is a rare instance where I’ll probably revisit the remix of Foundations of Burden going forward. Does that mean I like it? I think so; I went back to the original and I definitely can hear the flat, compressed and somewhat lifeless vibe of the original. And this isn’t Pallbearer’s first rodeo in the “let’s re-do our old album” game; they also provided a Bandcamp-only “alternate version” of my beloved Heartless (since removed, but you can read about it here and take my word it’s pretty much the same with some rougher touches) which attempts to do the same thing…except Heartless had none of the sonic issues the 2014 Foundations of Burden had.

Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of do-overs and re-imaginings of studio albums—that’s what the live cuts are for, fellas—but I’ll give it up to Pallbearer and this new experience. Foundations of Burden now has the depth and fire I want to hear from the band. Do I love it? No, not yet. But at least there’s now a chance for that to change.