Baroness

Vinyl Records and Rare LPs:

	Blue Record Colored Vinyl - New - RR 7053-1 Sealed 2011 reissue housed in a gatefold jacket; Unable to confirm exact year or vinyl variant but the hype sticker style (Black & Yellow) indicates it's in the earlier years of this release. "Georgia-based psychedelic rock band (calling them a metal act seems very reductive, though there's some seriously headbangable material on this disc) Baroness has made a subtle but unmistakable evolutionary leap on this, their second full-length and a clear companion piece to 2007's Red Album. It's hard to say exactly what new guitarist Pete Adams has brought to the band after replacing drummer Allen Blickle's brother Brian, but the band's established blend of Southern sludge riffs, druggy instrumental journeys, and melodic interstitial interludes, all propelled by a particularly thudding drum sound and held together by John Baizley's hoarse but clean vocals and gorgeous cover art, are even stronger now than before. The transition from the almost Moody Blues-like "Steel That Sleeps the Eye" into the crunching hard rock epic "Swollen and Halo" is just one example of Baroness' seamless melding of moods through technique and compositional acumen. There are numerous interludes on the disc -- basically, any track shorter than four minutes is an exploration of a riff followed by a dissolve into sound effects or keyboard swooshes, slowly dissolving into the next actual song. "Ogeechee Hymnal," for example, offers one of the album's heaviest riffs, but it's a mere appetizer before "A Horse Called Golgotha," a suitably galloping prog-metal epic that effectively conquers Mastodon's territory, and includes some astonishing guitar leads. This is a ferocious album that's not afraid to be genuinely beautiful." All Music Guide – Phil Freeman more
	Gold & Grey New - Vinyl - ABXN006-1 Sealed 2019 180gm 2LP standard gatefold original. Includes printed inner sleeves and lyric booklet insert. Side D has custom etching. "Gold & Grey represents the end of Baroness' color-schemed album titles, preceded by Red Album, Blue Record, Yellow & Green, and Purple. The now-Philadelphia-based quartet have been through major changes, from magazine covers and award nominations to a horrific life-threatening bus crash that caused the original rhythm section to leave, and the 2018 departure of founding guitarist Peter Adams, vocalist/guitarist John Baizley remains as the only original member. Bassist Nick Jost and drummer Sebastian Thomson were on board for Purple, but new guitarist/backing vocalist Gina Gleason (Santana, Smashing Pumpkins) makes her studio debut with Baroness here. While not quite the sprawling double-length exercise that Yellow & Green was, the Dave Fridmann-produced Gold & Grey, with its wildly diverse 17 tracks, is only ten minutes shorter, and is as labyrinthine as it is sprawling in ambition. Baroness have freely indulged in experimental songwriting, arranging, and studio experimentation before, but not to the degree displayed here. Everything, from continuously evolving, shapeshifting songwriting to a truly noisy mix and an ever-more-wide-angled juxtaposition of genres and styles, reflects aesthetic adventurousness. While there is metal riffing here -- especially in the set's second half -- it is merely an element in this kaleidoscopic rainbow of sounds, textures, and dynamics. Opener "Front Toward Enemy," with its bass-throbbing heavy fuzz, may recall the band's earliest days, but the gorgeous layered vocal harmonies offset the aggression. "I'm Already Gone" offers the first taste of a real stylistic shift displaying an unmistakable admiration for the Cure's Pornography in its melodic and vocal lines. Some tracks serve as intros/interludes. Baroness have played with them in the past but never to the fully fleshed extent they do here. They range from gentle piano themes in "Sevens" to evocations of noisy, 21st century Krautrock on "Can Obscura." "Tourniquet" opens with a direct nod to Big Star's Third before changing directions toward a midtempo slammer. Loopy, acid-drenched psychedelia emerges on "I'd Do Anything," and "Assault on East Falls." While "Throw Me an Anchor" is an anthemic prog metal jam, "Emmett: Radiating Light," is a halting acoustic number with bells, a processional upright piano, and intricately layered vocal harmonies between Baizley and Gleason that deliver dazzling results. While "Borderlines" nods at Kyuss' desert rock, closer "Pale Suns" crisscrosses near-Baroque vocal harmonies with brooding sludge, King Crimson-esque prog, and squalling post-metal à la mid-period Killing Joke. In lesser hands, this wild, unruly amalgam of musical and playing styles and songwriting would result in a mess -- Baroness themselves couldn't pull it off on Yellow & Green. But here, thanks to maturity, Fridmann's mix, and uncanny sequencing, every song fits seamlessly inside each proceeding one, delivering a mercurial yet satisfying whole that makes Gold & Grey the band's finest outing to date, if not their masterpiece." All Music Guide - Thom Jurek more
	Purple New - Vinyl - ABXN-001 Sealed 2015 180gm Gatefold original. Standard black vinyl pressing with clear custom hype sticker on front shrink. Includes an 8-page 11" x 11" full color booklet with artwork, lyrics and credits. "A bus accident in 2012 permanently altered reality for Baroness. While on tour to promote the just-released Yellow & Green, they crashed through a guardrail in heavy rain and fell 30 feet. Though all the members survived, drummer Allen Blickle and bassist Matt Maggioni each suffered fractured vertebrae and ultimately left the group. Frontman/guitarist John Baizley (who spent months in recovery) and guitarist Pete Adams enlisted drummer Sebastian Thomson (Trans Am) and jazz bassist Nick Jost (who also handles keyboards) as their new rhythm section. Purple was produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney) and issued on the band's Abraxan Hymns label. Baroness' penchant for using colors as album titles is apt here: Purple denotes both bruising and healing. Musically, this is an energetic (at times anthemic) hard rock album whose songs are drenched in hooks, soaring vocals, and vibrant singalong choruses; they're scored for blistering twin guitars, a forceful, inventive rhythm section, and a boatload of sonic atmospheres. Throughout, influential references seemingly emerge at once: Mastodon, Wishbone Ash, the Obsessed, early Queen, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc. Fridmann is an equal collaborator: His creatively textured palette is dynamic and sprawling. Baizley's lyrics continually reference the aftermath of trauma but never weigh down the songs. The first four tracks -- "Morningstar," "Shock Me," "Try to Disappear" and "Kerosene" -- are stone killers. Each contains a brief, speculative intro that gives way to a full-tilt rocker. Tightly written verses/chorus/verse/bridge structures are accompanied by massive riffing and biting, kinetic instrumental breaks. The spacious atmospherics that introduce "Chlorine & Wine" ring and sway before the drum kit, bassline, and dual guitars start cranking through riffs answered by thunder cracking fills. The twin lead guitar break here is the best one on the record. Like "Kerosene" on the first half, "The Iron Bell" and "Desperation Burns" are heavy, hard-hitting metallic jams with vast sound palettes that never minimize the attack factor. There are two things that each of these tracks share: the first is Baizley's expressive vocal (remarkable given his limited range). The second is that they all seem to wed the heaviness of 2007's Red Album to the finest melodic hooks from Yellow & Green. The instrumental "Fugue" is painted with billowing ambient sonics, serpentine leads, and electric piano, all guided by a nocturnal snare and hi-hat groove. The melancholy power ballad "If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain?)" pairs the Gothic longing of the Cure's Robert Smith with the progressive rock of Porcupine Tree, and strains through Baroness' signature crunch in a striking finish. Though not as "experimental" as their previous couple of records, as a whole Purple is far more focused, and it's certainly more euphoric. Surviving a close brush with death resulted in a celebratory affirmation of life that equates physical bombast and rockist swagger with woozy, dreamy, rainbow-streaked beauty." All Music Guide - Thom Jurek more
	Red Album Colored Vinyl - New - RR6721-1 Sealed 2LP gatefold release; Likely a reissue but unable to confirm exact year or vinyl variant. No hype sticker on this pressing. "There isn't exactly a plethora of metal bands in the early 21st century that are eager to mix indie rock sounds into their noise, which makes the Savannah, GA-based quartet Baroness stand out from the overcrowded metallic pack. On their first-ever full-length release (and first for the Relapse label), 2007's The Red Album, the riffs are quite reminiscent of guitar-driven, post-hardcore bands out of the mid-'90s (a style which would later serve as the basis for emo bands several years later), while singer/guitarist John Baizley only knows one way to vocalize: holler, holler, holler. Think a more metallic Fugazi or Sunny Day Real Estate, and you're not far off from the brand of rock & roll that Baroness specializes in, as evidenced by such standouts as "The Birthing" and "Wanderlust." The Red Album shows that Baroness is one of a select number of acts that manage to be both mathematical and melodic at the same time." All Music Guide – Greg Prato more
	Stone New - Vinyl - ABXN008-1 Sealed 2023 standard black vinyl gatefold original. Includes 4-pag e booklet insert. "Work on Stone, the sixth album by Baroness, began during the pandemic. The band held Monday night Zoom meetings and shared files, riffs, and songs. They amassed 30 tracks before entering a Barryville, New York home studio in November to cut the best of what they had, and they recorded and mixed each track individually, creating unique sonic portraits. Long tours followed in 2021 and 2022, further delaying Stone's release. Baroness' standard recording approach combines sludge-and-stoner metal with prog, folk, drones, and psych. Stone, self-produced and mixed by Joe Barresi, focuses closely on the band's attention to songwriting, craft, and execution; they cover the seams between their directional shifts. On the lion's share of Stone, Baroness offers shorter songs and stretches out within them. Opener "Embers" is a minute-long acoustic intro with Baizley, Gleason, and bassist Nick Jost in three-part harmony. It dissolves into the blistering prog metal of "Last Word." Anthemic vocals are supported by soaring refrains in multi-part harmony as serpentine guitar hooks are underscored by thundering kick drums and crash cymbals. Gleason's screaming 30-second guitar solo rips the tune open during its second half. "Beneath the Rose" opens with a knotty, precise, yet dissonant exchange between bass, drums, and lead guitar before the riff crashes in with Gleason and Baizley playing in unison before they shift into intense, crushing, staggered vamps. "Choir" chugs along with ringing guitar sonics, a syncopated bassline, and grooving drums before kitman Sebastian Thomson stitches in a synth for dramatic effect. "The Dirge" is a short interlude about death offered with acoustic guitars, a droning synth, and ironically bright, sweetly delivered, three-part vocal harmony. "Anodyne" vamps in ominously, offering massive riffs and an intricate melody unfolding through the minor-key progression. "Shine" commences as acoustic prog, but shatters that notion quickly with pummeling percussive force, ringing, psychedelic guitars, and Baizley's vocal roaring over the top with compelling, poetic lyrics that place him in a league of his own. "Magnolia" introduces itself as a proggy acoustic ballad, ethereal, dark, and alluring. Gleason's tender slide guitar break evolves less than 30 seconds later into a shattering power riff underscored by Thomson's kit. The tune's frame shatters as Baroness moves into taut, seamless prog metal. A funereal sludge fuels the endless plodding in "Under the Wheel" (the set's only misstep), while closer "Bloom" is an acoustic ballad with a breezy, circular melody that sounds influenced by the Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead. In sum, Stone balances Baroness' carefully crafted shorter ambitions with mid-length jams to provide listeners with constantly shifting tensions, fluid dynamics, lush harmonies, and pile-driving riffs. Stone reveals a wide musical portrait of the ever-evolving Baroness, who seems to be embarking on a more expansive creative voyage." All Music Guide - Thom Jurek more