Last Wednesday brought me down to St. Andrews Hall to catch Baroness on tour opening up for Meshuggah, along with earlier supporting act Decapitated. Baroness is a sludge metal band that hails from Savannah, GA, formed back in 2003. This tour brings them out in support of their new "Yellow and Green" album, due to be released July 17. Their first album, "Red Album" was met with wide acclaim with Revolver magazine calling it the Album of the Year, Their 2nd album, "Blue Record", brought them even closer to the forefront of the public ear, with tour support for bands such as High On Fire, Clutch, Mastadon, as well as a notable opening slot act for Metallica in Australia and New Zealand in 2010.
From start to finish, Baroness had the crowd psyched up and jamming along to each song. It was evident they had many fans in the crowd, witnessed by the amount of people who were singing along and pumping their fists to "A Horse Called Golgotha" from the "Blue Record" right from the start of their set. "March to the Sea", a new cut from their upcoming release of "Yellow and Green Album", followed and was received voraciously by the crowd. Singer John Baizley bellowed forth the lyrics while wailing out a galloping rhythm of guitar, matched by Peter Adams on guitar and backing vocals. Matt Maggioni on bass held back no restraint, laying down the foundation of heaviness to compliment drummer Allen Blickle, a mad man on drums in his own right.
Other songs in their set that night included "Take My Bones Away", another blistering song from their upcoming release. "Steel That Sleeps the Eye", "Swollen and Halo", "The Gnashing", "The Sweetest Curse" and "Isak" rounded out the set for the night. If you get a chance to catch this band, you should do so. The layers of sound they bring in their songs are a aural treat for the ear, with so many different elements of musical style blended together. I can’t wait for the new album to blast it from my ride this summer.
Baroness "Yellow and Green" hits stores July 17th through Relapse records. The band is currently wrapping up their tour with Meshuggah before heading overseas to kick off a European tour starting with the Tuska Open Air festival in Helsinki, Finland.
