BARONESS
Gold & Grey
ABRAXAN HYMNS
IT’S BEEN NEARLY four years since Baroness unveiled what was then regarded as their magnum opus, Purple. Gestated during the band’s recovery from a career-threatening bus crash, it saw frontman John Baizley and his new line-up raise their profiles with a harmonious fusion of acidic sludge and melodic, ambient beauty. Despite its oft-alien originality, Purple earned Baroness a Grammy nomination in 2017.
“A HEARTSTRING-PLUCKING PILGRIMAGE”
In following up all of that momentous acclaim, it initially seems that Baroness have opted for the South Of Heaven precedent: following an adored release by doing the exact opposite. While Purple – with its concise run-time and radio singles like Shock Me – had moments of succinctness to complement its barmier underpinnings, Gold & Grey is an hour-long, 17-track odyssey. So, on paper, it appears that it has more in common with 2012’s Yellow & Green, Baroness’s sprawling prog rock double album, than anything else. However, the opening moments pick up right where the band most recently left off. Front Toward Enemy roars to life with a twisted and visceral hard rock riff, followed by the harmonised choruses of I’m Already Gone, which recalls such recent glories as Try To Disappear. The primary change thus far is newcomer Gina Gleason, whose luscious, higher-pitched backing vocals are the perfect counterpoint for Baizley’s low, Southern rasp.
Increasingly avant-garde overtones begin to be felt in the meandering balladry of Tourniquet, which evokes more memories of Yellow & Green with its sombre delivery. Sorrowful acoustic guitars gradually evolve into fuzzy, sledgehammer-heavy riffs, aided in their metamorphosis by satisfyingly chopping basslines. The subsequent shred-a-thon, Throw Me An Anchor, should feel like a dynamic mess, yet the interlude, Anchor’s Lament – as with every other short instrumental here – stands as a masterful transition, providing a minute of escalating symphonies that bridges any gaps. It’s these details that elevate the album to the upper echelon of Baroness’s entire career to date, making Gold & Grey feel like an expertly executed journey where every stop is quintessential.
Thereafter, the nihilistic one-two of Emmett: Radiating Light and Cold-Blooded Angels are the ultimate climax to Gold & Grey’s more overtly bleak tangent. Both boast poetic lyricism and eclectic instrumentation from triangles to bells, worthy of comparisons to genre-less powerhouses as far-flung as the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Likely to the relief of some, Gold & Grey caps itself off with a full-blooded return to guttural rock’n’roll. Broken Halo hacks away with Mastodon-style guitar chords before Borderlines steals the show as a joyous romp of duelling vocalists and rhythmic swagger.
After such a positive jolt, it’s astounding when you recall the pessimistic lows that Baroness were traversing not half an hour beforehand. To call Gold & Grey a heartstring-plucking pilgrimage would be no exaggeration, as these four musicians demonstrate that Purple was not their be-all and end-all, it was merely a stepping stone to the real masterpiece looming around the corner.
FOR FANS OF: Elder, Mastodon, Hawkwind
MATT MILLS
ABNORMALITY
Sociopathic Constructs
METAL BLADE
New England’s tech-death brutalists revel in the chaos
2016’s highlighted Abnormality’s ability to flex cutting-edge technicality while still sounding as nasty and scary as possible. sees both of these pillars built even higher, with a clinical rhythm section creating the perfect maelstrom for thuggish riffs and Mallika Sundaramurthy’s bestial vocals. While the murderous frenzy of and is akin to being ripped apart as a building collapses around you, and the slugfest of . With drummer and lyricist Jay Blaisdell stating that is the ideal soundtrack.
