Review PALLBEARER “Mind Burns Alive”

If you define doom metal as slower paced metal that tends towards a snail’s pace, you could call Pallbearer a doom metal band. However, I think that this is a little bit short-sighted, because the band has more to offer.

The four-piece from Little Rock, Arkansas debuted in 2012 with “Sorrow and Extinction” and have since added three additional longplayers to their track record. The latest effort is titled “Mind Burns Alive”, an album that delivers 50 minutes of stellar music.

Pallbearer’s latest longplayer contains six songs, all of which are of epic length. While the doom metal aspect plays a role in the album’s mostly slow to moderate tempo, “Mind Burns Alive” can’t be compared to genre icons like Candlemass or St. Vitus. The musical approach is too different, while the quality aspect is what all these bands have in common.

If you listen to a song like “Endless Place” with its 10-minute running time, you will quickly become familiar with Pallbearer’s musical vision. The embedded sound of a saxophone is as unusual as it is perfect for this song. “Endless Pain” is an exquisite musical epos that blends some mighty riffs with an almost tangible sonic landscape. It is this combination that immediately grabs your attention. There is a lot to explore while listening to these six songs, or better compositions, and often you will find yourself standing there with your mouth wide open.

Pallbearer don’t play doom metal, nor are they a prog band, and in the end it doesn’t matter what genre these guys fit into best. What these metal enthusiasts from Arkansas deliver with their latest album is a stellar piece of music that combines the fury and fragility of the human soul. This album invites you on a musical journey through the world of melancholy and emotion. It is a fascinating way to spend 50 minutes and there is an addictive factor built in as you have a strong desire to get back to the beginning after the last note of “With Disease” has faded away.