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Pallbearer: Sorrow and extinction
14/03/12 || Will Cifer
Underwhelmed by the Arkansas doom band’s 2010 demo, I still felt Pallbearer had potential. This measure of faith rested on the hope of better production and time spent in the studio to give reflection on the nuances of song writing. On the very first listen of “Sorrow and extinction” the passages of clean guitar welcomed me, as it dripped with morose melody giving previous doubts I had on their demo a proper burial.
The white elephant in the room on dividing metal message boards is singer Brett Campbell. Neither a growler or an Ozzy homage, he stands out in the genre. I first heard Brett on the guest spot on Loss’ “Despond” album. He is not trying to be the second coming of Ronnie James Dio, sometimes allowing his voice to crack in more of a stylistic element than a lack of range. He displays at time a measure of power akin to Eric Wagner of Trouble without the Jesus or bell bottom blues. He only becomes forceful on the 6 minute mark of “Offering of grief,” the majority of the album he evokes Rob Halford’s crooning mid range from the first four Priest albums. The vocals well mixed into the music, plead to the thunder head of riffs rolling in on you.
One unique quality of their music is there isn’t an overabundance of Sabbath worship. If traces are found any where it would be in the drumming. These guys have huddled around the bong to both Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass. Often doom or stoner rock purposefully hearkens to a more retro sound, here the elements of dated cheese are thrown out of the fridge before the mold grows. These epics of a darkening horizon cast fresh light on the darkness. The challenge for any doom band is to keep it varied and interesting while plodding at a dying lumber. The guitars carry a rock n roll fuzz to them, keeping their sound from being what is categorized as funeral doom.
The experimental edge to the guitars pack a sonic punch, rather than just use the riff to dig into the dirt with sheer heaviness. Pallbearer knows when to let the chords ring with a sense of majesty and then picking up the pace in a mammoth chug giving space for a solo to blaze out from the crescendo. The lead playing catches your ear not defaulting to the thematic melody of the song but venturing in angular fashion past the minor fifth harmonies. The bass lead in to “The legend” accents the fact there isn’t a weak link to this band. This song also appeared on the demo, and displays the growth invested into it’s re-recording. The album’s closer required a second listen, the oddly layered guitar solos at the end dragged me back in as the swell in a fade of synth echo. The combination of fresh well crafted songs and well captured individual performances make this the first release of 2012 that has rocked my fucking socks off .
- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Profound Lore
- Website: www.pallbearerdoom.com
- Band
- Brett Campbell: vocals, guitar
- Devin Holt: guitars
- Joseph Roland: bass
- Chuck Shaaf: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Foreigner
- 02. Devoid of redemption
- 03. The legend
- 04. An offering of grief
- 05. Given to the grave
