Early Mourning
The Making of Pallbearer’s Sorrow and Extinction
Most of the members of Little Rock, AR doom quartet Pallbearer were barely out of college when their 2012 debut was released, but Sorrow and Extinction already felt like the product of a bunch of very old souls. Pitchfork’s Brandon Stosuy described the album as “startlingly well-realized,” praising both the inventive riffs and Brett Campbell’s textured vocals. Sorrow and Extinction was embraced as an instant and irrefutable classic from the jump, with a fresh 21st century perspective on doom metal. Pallbearer’s subsequent releases have only thrown the poise and polish of the band’s debut into further relief, even if what seemed like a grand unified theory actually benefited from trial and error and a few fortuitous fuck-ups.
The band also took a number of calculated risks, including kicking off the album with 2:30 of spare acoustic guitar chords. “Foreigner” takes a little while to get going, but the track functions much like a dolly shot, with the camera moving back steadily to reveal an increasingly large and breathtaking panorama. It also presents a defining moment in the band’s early sonic evolution, since it was the last song on Sorrow and Extinction to be finalized, and hints at a lot of the progressive elements that the band now regularly incorporates into its repertoire. Perhaps Pallbearer just wanted to present a more future-ready vision with an album opener, as opposed to recapitulating material from its well-regarded demo.
That said, those demo-era songs—re-recorded versions of “Devoid of Redemption” and “The Legend”—are pretty memorable, too. “Devoid of Redemption,” in particular, captures Pallbearer’s heavier side, where the emotional undercurrents running through the whole album are matched with the raw intensity of the performance. The more ponderous material on Sorrow and Extinction, like closer “Given to the Grave,” is nonetheless anchored by a keen ear for melody. Guitarist Devin Holt attributes this to inspiration from hometown heroes Rwake and the band’s shared affinity for the whole genre of doom metal, particularly melody-forward acts like Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Pentagram.
One curious aspect of Sorrow and Extinction is that Zach Stine, who recorded the drum parts, was conscripted into the band despite his lack of formal training. But Stine’s parts are so meticulous that Mark Lierly, who joined during the album’s touring cycle, now largely plays them as-is. If you spend enough time with the album, you may pick up on other slightly askew and surreal aspects. Bassist Joseph Rowland theorizes that the two-inch tape machine utilized for the multiple recording sessions was not calibrated correctly, altering both the pitch and tempo of certain parts. This album hits differently depending on time of day, choice of format (the CD and vinyl versions capture different mixes), and the listener’s own emotional state. Sorrow and Extinction is more than just a landmark album in the continued evolution of doom—it’s the ultimate spiritual cleanse.
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