The Black Heart Procession (occasionally spelled The Blackheart Procession) is an indie rock band from San Diego, California. The band was formed in 1997 by Pall Jenkins (member of the short-lived Ugly Casanova) and Tobias Nathaniel (both members of the band Three Mile Pilot). The group is often augmented by the contributions of Mario Rubalcaba, Jason Crane, Joe Plummer, Dimitri Dziensuwski and Jimmy LaValle. The Black Heart Procession is known for a sound that is unique even for indie rock standards. The band utilizes a variety of standard rock instruments as well as electronic keyboads and samplers. Pall Jenkins is also known for his ability to play the saw. Their sound has been described as an indie gothic, or dark indie rock. Each one of their first four albums (1 through Amore Del Tropico) are what people would consider concept albums, progressive with a musical and lyrical theme. One major theme continues over many albums in a song called The Waiter, which currently has 5 parts spanning from the first album to the newest album, The Spell. With the latest album though they seemed to have moved away from the entire conceptual idea, at least musically, with more songs that one would consider radio friendly, although the same overall tone and sounds are still there.