“And it stoned me to my soul.” Baroness ascends to a new peak on their sixth album.
Time is compressing, not just for Gen Xers and Millennials navigating middle age, but for rock ‘n’ roll. In 1983 of all the bands that had been formed twenty-plus years previously like the Yardbirds, The Action, The Pretty Things, The Groundhogs, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, The Spencer Davis Group, Cryin’ Shames, and The Kinks, most were long gone. While The Kinks released State of Confusion (1983) to some commercial success thanks to “Come Dancing,” they were still considered a legacy oldies act, as their creative peak was thirteen years in the past, and that was their nineteenth album. Today, there’s many more bands formed twenty years ago who are not only still going strong, but some, like Baroness, formed in Savannah, GA in 2003, may not even have reached their peak yet.
Some fans might still favor the giddy initial impact of the progressive sludge metal of full length debut Red Album (2007), which reflected some influence from fellow Georgians Mastodon. It was a progression from the hardcore punk (Gauze) and post-hardcore roots (Fugazi) on their first two EPs. I’m partial to the heavy psych and twin guitar harmonies of Blue Record (2009). The alt rock explorations of the double Yellow & Green (2012) confounded some, but also became a favorite of many. Coming back from a horrific bus crash in England with a new lineup, Purple (2015) is seen by many as a new peak. It’s close, but hindered by the production of Dave Fridmann. While his reputation rests on his production four two classic albums each by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips between 1998 and 2002, he’s since leaned way too heavily on overly distorted and compressed sounds. The drums resemble John Bonham inside a dumpster, compromised by digital bit rot, with the overall sound brittle, jagged and irritating. His production work was a blight on many bands, like Sleater Kinney’s The Woods (2005). He didn’t completely ruin the two albums Baroness recorded with him, but certainly compromised their potential.
Thankfully, the band had enough accumulated experience to be able to produce themselves on their sixth album. They rented an Air B’n’B mansion in Barryville, NY in between John Dyer Baizley’s and Gina Gleason’s home in Philadelphia, and the rhythm section Sebastian Thomson and Nick Jost in N.Y.C., who have been in the band for a decade. Gleason replaced Pete Adams in 2017, and the band were still settling in the exploratory Gold & Grey (2019). Stone is the first time the band has recorded an album with no lineup change since the previous one, and it shows. After spending 36 hours setting up gear Baizley accumulated over the past two decades via Craigslist and eBay, the band had a fully functioning recording studio with rooms mixing wood, glass, brick, and stone surfaces that could be used in service of the recordings. Starting with thirty-seven songs, the resulting ten tracks are overall the best Baroness has ever sounded.
While a big deal by some have been made of the band’s previous color wheel theme, it is and it isn’t. Stone isn’t necessarily a huge departure in that while the colors gold and grey can signify orange, there could also be a link to the precious metal gold. Stone has it’s distinct textural properties that are used in sculpture and architecture, and of course a common metaphor throughout human history, such as the Greek legend of Sisyphus endlessly pushing a boulder up a mountain in Hades as penance for cheating death not once, but twice. The toil of the stone is the price paid for staying alive. Baizley also took long walks during the pandemic in the West Laurel Hill Cemetery, full of inspiring stone monuments and tombstones. I could imagine future albums named Glass and Iron, or they could go in a completely different direction.
Having established a strong chemistry over four years, the band has emphasized their creative process has become more instinctual, leaning on the band’s nonverbal live synergy. Their instincts lead them to a Zeppelinesque mix of textures and dynamics, with the haunting, folky minute long intro “Embers,” that could have been the beginning of a Comus or Akron/Family record. “Last Word,” released as the first single, is a seemingly a bridge to the band’s previous work, coming out blazing with chugging riffs and bellowed choruses. But Gleason’s harmonies subtly become more noticeable, and then she unleashes a solo that’s unlike anything in their repertoire, a clean, chiming sound. Meanwhile, Baizley’s staccato underlying rhythm achieves an echoey quality reminiscent of The Edge, and for the last 30 seconds, both guitars intertwine so that you can’t tell who’s doing what. This is just a teaser for what’s to come.
“Beneath the Rose” was started during sessions for Gold & Grey, and introduces a spoken word section that links it to “Choir” and “The Dirge” as a sort of trilogy. The spoken word brings to mind a variety of elements from the band’s influences from Minor Threat to The Rollins Band and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. While it reverts to a familiar soaring melodic chorus, “Choir” ventures further into a more dramatic, theatrical presentation complete with sinister sound affects, Baizley’s voice getting more menacing, bringing to mind “Wake up, time to die” from Bladerunner. It’s impressive that they can naturally segue into the lilting folky harmonies of “The Dirge” and make it still feel of a piece. The second half kicks off with a more traditionally structure rocker “Anodyne” that’s chock full of great guitar tones, licks and flanger effects. “Shine” ascends to a magnificent peak at 4:00 when the twin guitars come in. It’s good to know they didn’t feel the need to completely abandon their Thin Lizzy/Iron Maiden twin lead guitars.
The epic 7:48 long “Magnolia” shows off what Gleason has to offer as she takes the lead in the haunting, Western noir for the first two minutes along with nature sounds. Like another album of the year contender from Spirit Adrift, the album has sounds of “outside” embedded throughout. The electricity switches on, along with Baizley’s vocals, expanding on the melodic line established by Gleason. Dynamics ebb and flow, and guitars intertwine once again for a majestic duel solo. “Under the Wheel” builds at a crawling post-rock pace, but when it reaches the choruses, stone turns to lava. The closing track, “Bloom,” is the conclusion to opener “Embers,” expanded to a full length tune, stripped down again to acoustic guitars and surprisingly pretty vocal harmonies.
Another thing I like about Baroness is that they keep up with new music, seeing up to six shows a week, and featuring up and coming bands in opening slots with a wide array of styles, including Jesus Piece, Portrayal Of Guilt, KEN Mode, Chat Pile, Soul Glo, and Imperial Triumphant. Way too many artists are either afraid of being influenced by new sounds, or could care less about what’s going on in music, and keep their heads firmly implanted in their asses. Baroness’ passion and commitment both to their colleagues in the scene and to their creative process is a damn good sign they’ll be around and relevant for a long time to come.
The Six Album Run Club
No, this isn’t a jogging club, but rather an induction of Baroness into the elite company of artists who have managed to release six great albums in a row. It’s a bit early to tell for sure the ranking of this latest album, but they’re most certainly in the top ten for 21st Century Bands, with recent inductees Elder and Protomartyr. In the all-time list I have them in the top sixty, roughly between Amon Düül II and Electric Wizard. Some heavy company indeed. The next probably inductee will be Graveyard with the appropriately named 6 on September 29.
