Blue Record [Vinyl]

Baroness | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (November 17, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relapse
• ASIN: B002OQYUUY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,957 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bullhead's Psalm

2. The Sweetest Curse

3. Jake Leg

4. Steel That Sleeps the Eye

5. Swollen and Halo

6. Ogeechee Hymnal

7. A Horse Called Golgotha

8. O'er Hell and Hide

9. War, Wisdom and Rhyme

10. Blackpowder Orchard

11. The Gnashing

12. Bullhead's Lament

Editorial Reviews

Blue Record announces the re-awakening of Savannah s rock giants BARONESS. The follow-up to 2007 s Red Album, Blue Record is an instantly-classic album, with all the peaks and valleys, textures, and nuances that timeless records yield over repeated listens. Deep and dark; Blue Record overflows with gossamer melodies and striking, earnest riffs that have become the band s signature. Swollen and Halo , Jake Leg , War, Wisdom, and Rhyme , The Sweetest Curse , are just a few of the tracks that are both instant and unforgettable, making Blue Record the most poignant moment in the BARONESS canon to date. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Metal Album 2009, November 24, 2009

By 

Buck Dingo (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Record (Audio CD)

I've been looking for something more aggressive than Torche, not as predictable as High on Fire, a groove oriented metal album, something with swing. The Blue Record is the water mark arrangement I've been looking for. The Red Album was solid (e.g. The Birthing!!!), but the whole Blue Record experience fits together like a seamless old school 70's masterpiece. The songs flow with beautiful interludes, then they build into a number of crescendos that force you to listen to the album as a whole. The last three tunes are a perfect fit, with Blackpowder Orchard/The Gnashing/Bullhead's Lament. The guttural vocals are tempered with harmonies that resemble the dueling vocals found in some Fugazi tunes. You'll hear more Zeppelin influence on this album than you'll find on TCV. Most of the faster songs have a strong sing/scream along factor working for them. The music is textured and the songs have hooks, so you can count on listening to the album repeatedly and not getting bored. Of all the tunes, I think the only one that is a misfit is "O'Er Hell and Hide". The beats and spoken word don't gel with the rest of the songs, but it's a respectable tune none the less. Then there's the artwork! Baizley is a true talent and I hope that he experiences much success as he diversifies and blossoms in the visual art world. This is my pick for best of metal album of 2009.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insanely Catchy, November 23, 2009

By 

Francis (arlington, va) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Record (Audio CD)

What Baroness have done here is to attempt, and successfully execute, something that heretofore had only been attempted by Mastodon on their last couple records. Make an insanely heavy record that packs hooks - whether catchy riffs, vocal melodies, or leads - into every conceivable minute of the album, without sacrificing anything, most especially continuity or atmosphere. It is, undoubtedly, one hell of an undertaking, and most groups are not even capable of trying. Many that might be do not try for fear of failure. It's a lot easier to just pump out disgusting riffs if that's what you do well. Baroness has had that down pat from their first EP. But they began combining that unique riff juggernaut with prog rock, southern rock and true pop sensibilities on Red Album, and have damn near perfected the formula they started to delve into there. Blue Record is the sound of a band firing on all cylinders, on every track.

Now what Baroness do is entirely different from what their hard rock brethren in Torche and Queens of the Stone Age (generally) do. While the latter are making groovy, heavy ass pop songs, Baroness are taking heavy metal song formulas and injecting them with so much pop flavor and so many memorable, hummable hooks that it seems at any moment they might burst. But they don't. They never meander aimlessly. The songs are taught, sometimes perhaps even too concise and direct. That's how you make six minute tracks seem to fly by in two.

Sure, Baroness have a bit of work to do in the vocal department, if only because they are seemingly demanding the maximum of themselves from a songwriting perspective in every other arena. The instrumention is beyond disgusting, but I think Baroness - scary as this is - can improve. Perhaps the third full length record will see vocals that reach into classic rock territory a la Mastodon's Crack the Skye (whether Mastodon can replicate those vox live being an entirely different discussion). And if Baroness can do that (which is to say pull off truly epic, soaring melodic vocals) well, there might be no better band on this earth. Because they've got just about everything else I personally look for in a band. Amazing, unique riffs that sound familiar but yet not quite like anything else I've ever heard - a bizarre blend of Melvins weirdness, southern rock tones and grooves, and math rock complexity. MEGA hooks - lead vocals, choruses, guitar solos, chord progressions and riffs I just can't get out of my head. Massive heaviness, galloping drums, fiery twin lead guitar work - a band comfortable channeling Iron Maiden, Mountain and the Melvins in the same song. A sense of scope, drama and timing that would make Explosions in the Sky and Pelican proud. Spectacular artwork from guitarist/singer John Dyer Baizley. Blue Record is the total package. This kind of band and this kind of record don't come around the block that often. Enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of 2009. Period., April 19, 2010

By 

Eric L. Vincent - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blue Record (Audio CD)

The state of today's popular music landscape may lead the music connoisseur to become bored with the endless cookie-cutter offerings from fabricated "American Idols" and over-the-hill rock icons. But once every so often a record that defies convention and provides a much-needed glimmer of hope that originality in the hard rock/metal genre appears. Baroness, the progressive-metal four-piece from Savannah, Georgia, has delivered such an album with its latest magnum opus entitled: Blue Record. Baroness has taken the standard idea of what a great metal album can be and has elevated it to a whole new level. Baroness uses an array of shifting dynamics, top-notch instrumental performances and tight songwriting, all packaged together with non-cliché cover art, to produce the metal album of 2009.

The talent and skill that the musicians of Baroness possess on Blue Record are evident in every song throughout the album. The twin guitar interplay of John Dyer Baizley and Pete Adams provide many of the highlights on the album. Baizley's electric guitar leads and intricate melodies provide many opportunities for Adams to harmonize in ways reminiscent of the legendary performances of Thin Lizzy. Guitarists Baizley and Adams display great chemistry throughout the album. They complement each other's styles well and are able to harness their chemistry and create many sonically diverse layers and textures. The rhythm section hold up their end and deliver the yin to the guitarists' yang. The driving rhythms of drummer Allen Blickle and bassist Summer Welch provide a solid base for the guitar performances of Baizley and Adams to shine throughout the record. Blickle's tight jazz-inspired percussion work throughout the record keeps up the frantic pacing of the higher tempos while providing the groove for the slower tempos.

Baizley's intense vocal delivery throughout the record provides another layer to Blue Record. Unfortunately, Baizley's vocal delivery is also the one element of Blue Record that did not reach the same level of excellence as every other aspect of the album. While Baizley has improved his vocal skills greatly from previous Baroness records, he has delivered an overall uneven performance on Blue Record. Baizley's gravelly voice commands attention in songs in which he hollers and shouts his cryptic lyrics. Baizley contrasts his abrasive bellowing throughout the album with a collection of quietly sung passages on a select few tracks. Luckily, Baizley's vocals are not the focus of Baroness' songwriting and do not take much, if anything, away from the overall greatness they have achieved on Blue Record.

Baroness uses a multitude of dynamics, the changes in sound intensity and volume, in not only each song on Blue Record, but in also how the order of the songs sequenced. These varied dynamics play an integral piece to its success as an album, rather than a collection of songs. The lush guitar harmonies of instrumental tracks, "Bullhead's Psalm" and "Bullhead's Lament," bookend the album perfectly. The sonic journey that happens between these two tracks takes the listener on a dynamic rollercoaster ride that reaches several triumphantly bombastic highs and somber lows. Once the final note of "Bullhead's Psalm" has faded away, the thrash-inspired guitar riffs of "The Sweetest Curse" rush out and propel the album forward. Baizley's addition of acoustic guitar and piano on "Steel That Sleeps the Eye" give the listener a pleasant respite between the hard rocking tracks of "Jake Leg" and "Swollen and Hallow." The soaring guitar refrain of "Ogeechee Hymnal" provides a much-needed lull before the album's centerpiece track, "A Horse Called Golgotha." "A Horse Called Golgotha" is a song that showcases everything that Baroness does well on Blue Record and displays their songwriting craft beautifully. The driving rhythms, varied volume and tonal dynamics, energetic guitar solos and sing-along choruses provide a crushing exclamation point to the first half of Blue Record.

The second half of the record further displays Baroness' deft ability to effectively use dynamics to keep the listener interested. The acoustic intro of "O'er Hell and Hide" gives way to a galloping rhythm that is punctuated by a section of soaring three-part guitar harmonies. The bluegrass tinged acoustic guitar interlude "Blackpowder Orchard" does a good job of allowing the listener another welcome breath and break up the more raucous tracks "War, Wisdom and Rhyme" and "The Gnashing." Once the last notes of the final track "Bullhead's Lament" have faded away, the listener is amazed that the 44 minute 25 second album runtime has come to a seemingly abrupt end. The overall dynamics and pacing of the album ensure a listening experience full of variety that neither stumbles nor tires and feels much shorter than advertised.

Finally, the diverse and artistic nature of Baroness' songwriting on the Blue Record is married with lead guitarist and songwriter John Dyer Baizley's intricate and haunting cover artwork. The highly detailed composition mirrors the complexity of Baroness' songwriting on Blue Record. The intricate nature of the artwork elicits feelings that it is a work of art and not merely an album cover. The ambiguous cover image does not immediately give away what is contained inside nor does it make it obvious as to which genre Baroness' Blue Record belongs in. The cover artwork conjures up nostalgic images of rock `n roll album covers from the sixties and seventies and could easily sit on the same shelves as records from the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. The image is a fantastical depiction of two nude maidens lounging in an area of lush vines, flowers, feathers and poppies whilst being surrounded by several fish of different species in front of a full moon. The image appears to be steeped in metaphors, the meanings of which may only be known to the artist himself. Everywhere in the composition there is some new visual nugget to discover, including a rooster head atop one maiden's head with chicken eggs falling down her breast--some breaking--and a large channel catfish sitting on the lap of the other. The inside pages of the booklet display the cryptic lyrics for every song on the album. On each page is a unique abstract border surrounding the text. These border designs vary from a simple circle surrounding the text to flowing and twisting lines or gilded patterns that tie the entire package together.

Baroness' highly ambitious attempt at sonic perfection delivers on many levels--sonically and visually. Catching lightening in a bottle, Baroness' use of changing dynamics and intensity from hard-driving rhythms to delicate melodies provides a thoroughly entertaining experience. The skillful use of sonic diversity, songwriting and performances and visual artistry combine in Blue Record to form the best metal record of 2009. Baroness has delivered an album that is so complete that it demands to be listened as a whole and not only as a few notable "singles." Baroness has continued their exciting trend of producing great albums that have helped to keep the LP and record player relevant in an age of Internet downloads and iPods. I recommend Blue Record to anyone who desires a challenging, yet immensely rewarding, listening experience.