The Callous Daoboys Shatter Expectations with I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven – A Dystopian Scrapbook of Vulnerability, Chaos, and Unapologetic Evolution
There’s no clean arc to the chaos. No roadmap to emotional growth. But The Callous Daoboys have never asked for one — and on their third full-length album, ‘I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven’ – released via MNRK Heavy (home of Filth Is Eternal, MASTIFF or Rolo Tomassi) – the Atlanta-based sextet masterfully deconstruct the very idea of artistic trajectory.
Fully shedding the skin of their mathcore origins, they emerge as one of heavy music’s most inventive voices, delivering a visceral, deeply personal, and sonically unhinged collection that doesn’t merely follow up on their breakout ‘Celebrity Therapist’—it detonates everything that came before it.
Rooted in the sonic bedlam of Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Chariot, and SeeYouSpaceCowboy, with a flair for the genre-bending drama of Glassjaw and Mike Patton’s many personas, ‘I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven’ is The Daoboys at their most nuanced, vulnerable, and daring.
Framed as an artifact in a dystopian future’s Museum of Failure, I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven is a layered and immersive concept album chronicling personal upheaval, sobriety, regret, and growth. Vocalist Carson Pace calls it “a scrapbook of trial and error”—a sonic diary tracking the emotional contours of his twenties with zero filters and total abandon.
But this isn’t just soul-baring—this is sonic whiplash in the best way. The Daoboys deftly fuse metallic chaos, post-hardcore catharsis, alt-rock sheen, and orchestral texture across ten genre-defiant tracks. “Schizophrenia Legacy” collides blast beats and mathy dissonance with sing-along hooks worthy of a warped Warped Tour. “Lemon” is a left-field alt-rock triumph—’90s radio-ready on the surface, but laced with existential lyrics and subversive intent. Tracks like “Tears on Lambo Leather” and “Douchebag Safari” lurch between hardcore aggression and avant-garde absurdity, showcasing the band’s unmatched capacity for contrast.
There’s humor. There’s heart. There’s chaos. And most importantly, there’s craft.
With long-standing members Carson Pace, violinist Amber Christman, and guitarist Maddie Caffrey anchoring the band’s vision, ‘I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven’ balances complete sonic freedom with a matured, reflective perspective. It’s a record that surprises at every turn, yet never feels directionless—a rare feat in a genre prone to either parody or pretension.
For fans of progressive heavy music that actually progresses, The Callous Daoboys offer more than just whiplash-inducing riffs—they offer revelation. This is not just the band growing up. This is the band ascending.
