 The Savannah, Georgia Metal 4-piece have never been that good at coming up with inventive titles for their albums, (though front-man John Baizley does continues to excel himself at artwork) but really, that is because they're a band keen to let the music do the talking. And for what the music here is worth, you certainly can understand why they would do that.
What's refreshing about this band is that they're actually very intelligent songwriters, something that's been all but missing from the Metal genre for some time, as well as an a culmination of wonderful sounds brought together. Try to imagine their Georgian peers, Mastodon cutting out the boring bits, splicing it with the depth of say, Pelican, and place it along side Torche's song writing (minus the cheesyness) and you'll be some of the way there to understanding what Baroness has to offer on what is now their third full-length.
The Red Album is an exciting record because it's massive, progressive metal, but not to the extent where it's overwhelming. In a couple years where their aforementioned peers either lost the faith from their fans or became a little too much for people to always handle, Baroness have kept themselves approachable by just simply writing good songs and having a wonderfully beneficial production job.
The guitars slice, shred, riff, drone or just burn out (the beautiful, 'Grad') when nessecary according to the flow to this record, and that's a very pleasing achievement. As for their somewhat behemoth rhythm section, this is a joy to behold too. Allen Bickle's drumming in particular makes sure this album rips through its duration, with scary precision but also a great amount of variation making songs like opener 'Rays of Pinion' or 'The Birthing' really exciting and some of the best songs of 2007 in any genre. Hugely recommended.
Adam Turner-Heffer |
| Coding: Darren Burrows