Reviewed by: Nicholas Bramanti
Score: 6.5/10
Baroness used to be a metal band but with their new album that descriptor seems to feel less and less appropriate. Those familiar with the band’s earlier work will find the sludge and doom replaced by powerful, catchy progressive hard rock. There’s still glimpses at the old moments of sludge, like on ‘Desperation Burns’ and ‘Kerosene’ but they’re balanced out with equally powerful near-ballads and power-pop choruses.
It’s been talked about in nearly every review written about this album, but it provides a lot of context to the story and meaning of this album so I’ll give a quick version of it. While on tour in Europe, Baroness’ bus crashed and the band suffered many near-fatal injuries. Two members of the original lineup left the band due to the severity of their injuries. After the success of their last album, Yellow and Green, many wondered if they would be able to continue on making music. The band shared many of these same feelings and not much was heard from them until nearly 3 years later, with the announcement of Purple. The album harnesses the emotions that come with you and your friends facing death and coming out alive. It’s at times dark and gritty and others fun and uplifting, seemingly laughing in the face of death.
This album, while not my favorite from Baroness, is an entertaining and worthwhile listen. It demonstrates what is capable of being made in the world of hard rock, and shows that it’s not all Buckcherry and Nickelback. The musicianship is impressive, with excellent metal riffs backed by jazzy bass and pounding, uplifting drums and choruses. Baroness continues to build on the anthemic nature of Yellow and Green while still moving forward and progressing their sound. If you’re a fan of their previous work I would recommend checking this out, just know that you won’t be getting the same sound you heard on their earlier albums. This is in many ways a new band, a band living with a new perspective on their own mortality and a new way of thinking about what it means to be making music for a living. There’s also two new members to the band, bringing new ideas and sounds to the writing process. Is this still a Baroness album? Yes, it’s just they’ve been through a lot since their last album.
Fave Tracks: 7, 6, 3
FCC: None
RIYL: Mastodon, Torche, Doomriders
