Growing Doom

Breakout metal act Pallbearer carries Arkansas’ torch

In the music world, the term "crossover" refers to a genre-specific band that finds success as a pop act, too. The label frequently applies to country and bluegrass bands.

There are far fewer metal crossover acts. And those bands never have the on-every-radio pop success of someone like Taylor Swift, who just formally announced her transition from country artist to pop star.

FAQ

Pallbearer

WHEN — 9 p.m. today

WHERE — The Lightbulb Club in Fayetteville

COST — $8

INFO — Advance tickets are available at Block Street Records

But as far as doom metal bands go, few earn the kind of attention now fixed on Pallbearer. The accessibility of the music -- indeed, there's such a thing as easy-to-digest doom metal -- builds many bridges. Notoriously fickle music website Pitchfork, for instance, awarded the band's 2014 album "Foundations of Burden" a "Best New Music" designation. The same publication called the band's 2012 album "Sorrow and Extinction" the best metal album of the year. NPR, meanwhile, called "Sorrow and Extinction" one of the best albums of the year, too, and played cuts from "Foundations" late last year on the program "All Songs Considered."

Not bad for a quartet from Little Rock that started out in art spaces and the now-defunct Downtown Music.

Those who don't listen aren't hearing the message, says Joseph D. Rowland, the band's bass player and primary lyricist.

"Their perception is that it's dissonant, and it's people with harsh, screamed vocals," Rowland says by phone before the start of a tour that tonight brings Pallbearer to The Lightbulb Club in Fayetteville. Auric will serve as the opening act.

Of course, some metal bands do write dissonant songs and scream their vocals. And there's an audience for that exact kind of sound. But that's never been Pallbearer's way. The band's emphasis is on melody.

"We draw from a lot of non-metal influences," Rowland says. Chief among them is Black Sabbath, a band now familiar from classic rock radio but the one most consider the trunk of metal's family tree.

If the harmonious two-guitar attack now offered by Pallbearer has a one-word description, it's "massive." Layers upon layers of guitar dubs add heft to the band's two studio albums.

Even so, it's a sound the four-piece group can replicate live, Rowland says.

"We all have an ear for guitar tone," he says. "We can pull off the sound. We did a recording live in the studio. ... It sounds just as massive."

There's just one critical element to the live show, Rowland says.

"As long as it's not thin," he says.

Also with increasing weight is the band's tour schedule, as Pallbearer's national reputation has translated into larger and more frequent shows. The group will spend most of the summer in Europe, with a break for a set at the massive Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee in June. That all comes after the Decibel magazine tour also featuring bands At the Gates, Converge and Vallenfyre. Last year, Decibel put Pallbearer on the cover, calling the band "doom's next big thing."

The tour schedule meant that a recent stop in Little Rock was the first since August. Twice per year is about all Rowland expects the musicians will make it back to their home state, although he's not so convinced any place is home now, considering the nine months he'll spend on the road in 2015.

And that can only make Pallbearer cross over to more fans.

NAN What's Up on 03/20/2015

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