Baroness left their mark in the music industry in 2009 with their latest album, entitled "Blue Record." This album will, in fact, crawl through your mind and play on for days. The progressive sludge metal band from Savannah, Georgia have really put some thought into the melodies and structure in this album. They've managed to mix strange, eerie, and reckless tones into there heavy guitars and harsh lyrics. This album has got it all!
The first track slowly fades in with dramatic guitar melodies that float on top of each other with interesting effects. After the short introduction comes chugging guitars and pounding drums in "The Sweetest Curse." There are some amazingly harsh vocals that you are greeted with immediately. The violent cymbals surround them with shattering crashes and powerful kicks. Layered in the middle of the song is some intense guitar riffs that shift from chord to chord in a psychedelic movement. "Jake Leg" follows with explosive drumming and more dominating vocals. The guitars fly from left to right with hell raising riffs and reckless distortion. The melodies are upbeat and wild as complicated drum fills keep the instruments tight. A lot goes on in this one so make sure you pay close attention.
"Steel That Sleeps The Eye" is an acoustic track with lots of soothing vocals layered together in beautiful harmonizing tones. The lyrics are deep and you should definitely get familiar with them. The song does include some distorted guitars toward the end which build up the following track, entitled "Swollen And Halo." The kicks and snares will have you rocking your head to the beat from beginning to end. You'll notice the drums getting more and more detailed with the snare and cymbal patterns as you fall deeper into the song. The guitars really communicate with high and low melodies constantly through the song. Meanwhile the bass hovers heavily in the background. This is a real power track that keeps the album running smoothly.
Later you'll run across a beast track, entitled "A Horse Called Golgotha." The drums are absolutely mind blowing as you are hit with complicated fill after complicated fill. The guitars are relentless as well as the patterns constantly change and keep you at the edge of your seat. Towards the end of the song you will collide with a vicious guitar solo that destroys the scales violently. The drumming keeps up with heavy cymbals and thunderous snares while catchy chords conclude the track. "O'er Hell And Hide" teases you with its soft and beautiful guitar intro. As it lures you in you eventually get slammed with a wave of melodic guitars that soar over the heavy drum rolls. You'll hear unclear clips of eerie talking throughout the song as the electrifying guitar continue to draw you closer and closer to the music. This is a very strange yet incredible track that you definitely need to check out.
As you fall towards the end of the album you find an interesting little tune called "The Gnashing." It's got relaxing guitars in the first minute of the song, as the drum kick and snare slowly join in. The guitars produce a very upbeat melody that gets faster and faster throughout the song. You are eventually met with rough vocals for a short period of time as the guitars are going crazy in the background with some pretty awesome riffs. Cymbals later fill the air as the track comes to an end.
"Blue Record" shows a very interesting angle of progressive sludge metal. You'll be left wanting to replay the album from the beginning as you will find it hard to pick a specific favorite track. If you happen to pick up the deluxe edition of the album you will also get a couple of live tracks from their performance at the Roadburn Festival. Definitely check these out as well. And as for Baroness, they are still very young in their career and I am definitely looking forward to which direction the go next.
8.5/10
Official Site - http://www.baronessmusic.com/
Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/yourbaroness
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