Review by Daniel for Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction (2012)

This is the debut album from these US Sabbath worshippers. I usually love this style of traditional doom metal & this record is not bad at all but the production unfortunately lets it down a bit as it's quite muddy & lacks brightness. Also, the musicianship is not terribly wonderful. The guitars are not perfectly in tune at times (especially in the opening track). The vocals are in the Ozzy Osbourne/Warning style & I quite like them most of the time. They're a bit further back in the mix than you would expect but that's not such a bad thing as it adds emphasis to the riffs which should definitely be the focus here. You can expect plenty of those beautiful early Cathedral-style guitar harmonies here which is always a good thing. Overall, "Sorrow & Extinction" is certainly heavy & I think Pallbearer would be great live. If the result of this debut album is any indication then they can only improve from here.