Doom the World: The Gift of Sorrow

With few exceptions most short lived metal bands make forgettable comeback albums. One very recent and clear exception to this rule is the stunning death doom record "Death of Sorrow" by Sorrow (Extreme Records, 2023). "Death of Sorrow" is equal parts catchy crushing riffs and and deeply personal ferocity--killer vocals and lyrics that are brutal commentaries on political corruption, religious hypocrisy, and the dark side of the human condition. If you've listened to earlier episodes, you know Jeff and Ben are huge fans of hardcore punk legends Black Flag, Minor Threat, and many others. We appreciate hardcore's brutally honest lyrics, DIY ethos, and take no prisoners delivery. To that end, Sorrow is a rare gem. While they play slow crushing death metal, songs like "Doom the World" and "Judicial Falsity" are heavy smack downs on America's broken social systems and suffocating hypocrisy. Most importantly, this deeply personal record is characterized by a seething ferocity that acts as a pressure valve for decades of pent up aggression (fear, hatred and disgust too). Not surprisingly "Death of Sorrow" was #15 on the Endless Metal top 30 of 2023. And it may even be higher now, as we continue to listen to this record over and over into 2024. It was thus an honor to interview Sorrow's original and now reformed lineup: Andy Marchione (Vocals and Bass), Bill Rogan (Guitars), Brett Clarin (Guitars), and Mike Hymson (Drums).

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While it may be a point of debate, Sorrow put "death metal" and "doom" on a flier in 1990 and are thus one of the first band's to integrate two of our favorite metal genres. We revisit their (mostly bleak) past, although they played some killer shows in the early 90s with fellow death doom legends Winter and, as the accompanying visual shows, Sorrow headlined a show with another incredibly influential doom band, Grief (now Come to Grief).

Prior to becoming Sorrow, the band in the late 1980s cut their teeth as Apparition in Long Island's (New York's) burgeoning extreme death metal scene. A scene where their friends from the obscure (wink, wink) death metal band Suffocation were tearing up now defunct local clubs like Sundance. We learn about the band's early struggles as perpetual outsiders to the scene as well as some classic and harrowing stories from the road. Classic tales are told of Sorrow's ill fated signing to the infamous Roadrunner Records in the early 1990s--the label that released the band's first EP "Forgotten Sunrise" and first proper full length "Hatred and Disgust" (1992)--and then summarily dropped Sorrow barely two years later. Fortunately, the band's last rehearsals of new material were captured on video. Although they considered a reunion circa 2010, it took eleven more years for Sorrow to reunite, re-learn, and properly record a new record. Some 30 years later, thanks to the miracle of home digital recording by Andy (mixing) and Brett (masteri