Red Album (CD - 2007)

Additional personnel: Tony Roebuck (trumpet).

Relapse Records' Baroness sound like a band that's been together much longer than their four years. Their debut full-length, THE RED ALBUM, displays a veteran band's sense of adventure and sophistication while retaining a young band's power and energy. Similar in spirit to (fellow Georgians) Mastodon, Baroness concentrates on giving a song room to breathe. They're not afraid to jam, but never lose focus, building complicated, twisting guitar acreage that's equal parts Metallica and Television, with a strong balance of tension and release that demands your attention. Heavy as a boulder or light as meringue, Baroness shows an advanced mastery of dynamics that will please many a cerebral headbanger.

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. ~ Greg Prato minimize