Album: Purple
Year: 2015
Rating: 96/100
It is said that sometimes, the further you fall, the higher you bounce back, and that adage couldn't be more true for Baroness if it tried. After their tour bus crashed in Bath when over this side of the pond for their tour on the back of double album "Yellow & Green", Baroness main man John Dyer Baizley took some time out to recuperate, regroup and bring Baroness back to the studio with a brand new line up. The end result is this, "Purple". So, the burning question; is it any good?
Actually, it's pretty damn spectacular! The Savannah quartet have returned with not so much a bang, but more a full blown explosion as the album bursts into life. Opening track "Morningstar" makes the listener feel like they've been bludgeoned with one from the word "go", while tracks such as "Shock Me" and "Chlorine and Wine" show the listener that the Baroness they all know and love is well and truly back after the curveball that was "Yellow & Green", a much more instantaneous beast than first thought by many, but beset with too many inconsistencies. Elsewhere, "Kerosene", "The Iron Bell" and "Desperation Burns" are typically hard hitting with some wonderfully silly spots thrown in, "Fugue" sounds like an early 70s instrumental soul jam before normal service resumes, and John Dyer Baizley seems vocally to be in as fine fettle as ever, his uplifting tuneful bellow resonant and clear as always.
Like the proverbial phoenix rising from the flames, Baroness are back with the bang that they truly hoped for. "Purple" establishes them as one of the finest sludge metal acts in the here and now, and should rightly get them the positive attention that they surely deserve. Outstanding stuff.
Track Listing:
- Morningstar
- Shock Me
- Try to Disappear
- Kerosene
- Fugue
- Chlorine & Wine
- The Iron Bell
- Desperation Burns
- If I Have To Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain?)
- Crossroads of Infinity
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