Pallbearer – Sorrow And Extinction (Profound Lore Records)
Due to the amount of attention from non-metal sources (Pitchfork, NPR, etc.) that Arkansas-based doom metal band Pallbearer has been receiving lately, it's almost a given that genre purists will cry fowl (the building up and destroying of idols being what genre purists live for, after all). And it's certainly a possibility that the attention of press sources outside of Terrorizer and Revolver might act as the harbinger of greater crossover appeal. The band's music is certainly accessible enough, as far as these things go, with a melodic component and a coherent songwriting approach that could ease a fan of, say, Torche or Jesu into darker and heavier realms.
But aside from the hypothetical support of people that listen to music other than Saint Vitus, there's a lot to enjoy here, especially for those listeners who may not be thrilled with the monotony of many bands playing this style, those sorts of acts that are solely about the big amps and the riffs (maaaaan) rather than how well-structured their songs are. And for a band whose material tends to be fairly slow and gloomy (of the four words on the record's cover, the band name and album title, only the conjunction “and” doesn't specifically refer to any sort of death and desolation), there is a wide variety of timbre and mood present on Pallbearer's debut. While it never strays far from the sort of elegiac dirges peddled by bands like Warning and Candlemass, there are acoustic moments, harmonized lead guitar elements, occasional subtle ambient textures, and psychedelic flourishes that help distinguish the songs without pulling them too far from their source material. Theirs is a sound that builds and recedes, playing with a listener's expectations and ensuring that the songs are characterized by steady progression.
It's also refreshing to hear a take on doom's more melodic strands that doesn't fall into the traps that ensnare many bands attempting this style of music. It never gets overly gothy like My Dying Bride. While the aforementioned Candlemass element is never far from the band's sound, Pallbearer side-steps some of the former's exaggerated operatic tendencies. And on a different sub-genre note, it's also nice to hear contemporary southern heavy bands that don't feel the need to steal sizable chunks of Eyehategod's style.
So it should be no surprise when Pallbearer catches on outside their narrow genre confines. With or without the help of relatively mainstream media sources, their music is a compelling breath of fresh air in a scene that isn't always quick to embrace accessibility. Sorrow and Extinction is the product of a band who understands that what made their influences great in the first place was a willingness to establish an individual sound, and that, no matter how well-versed an artist may be in their forebears' work, if they themselves don't attempt a similar iconoclasm, any tribute paid is hollow. But that's not the case here. And, while it may be too early to call it, it's difficult to imagine a better doom metal album being released this year.
By: Graham Scala