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Stoner metal? Sludge? Call it what you want, but Baroness’
Blue Record is an all around great rock record. After
reading the enormous amount of praise from both fans and critics,
I knew this was something I needed to hear. After hearing
“The Sweetest Curse,” I was impressed and intrigued,
but it was their video/song “A Horse Called Golgotha”
that really set me off—a riff-heavy, stoner-rock anthem—pure
rock fury that had me pumping my fist to the colossal chorus.
For those who think Mastodon is the current king of Sabbath-heavy,
sludge metal, give Blue Record a try. And that’s
not a knock on Mastodon, it’s just that Blue Record
is that damn good. Each year, there seems to be a new band
emerging from the underground seemingly out of nowhere, putting
out an album that will knock you on your ass, while forcing
the rock world to question their own being. In recent years,
I’d point to Mastodon (Blood Mountain), Gojira
(The Way of All Flesh) and now Baroness as a few
of these.
The album opens with the short instrumental, “Bullhead’s
Psalm,” on which the acoustic guitar melody reminds
me of the middle break of one of Metallica’s instrumentals,
“To Live Is to Die.” The melody is continued in
different variations both on “Ogeechee Hymnal”
and the album closer, “Bullhead’s Lament,”
tying everything together in its own old-fashioned way. “The
Sweetest Curse” then kicks the door down with a low-end
heavy riff backed by a melding of hardcore-influenced shouted
vocals and melodic rock singing. This sets the tone for the
rest of the album—the attention is not on the vocals,
but more so on the throwback guitar sound, both in riffs and
solos. There’s a looseness and jam vibe, yet also a
timelessness to the album. “Jake Leg” is like
a heavier Queens of the Stone Age, while the same could be
said for the two-step pace of “O’er Hell and Ride.”
There’s some spoken vocal parts here, but again, other
than on “The Sweetest Curse” and A Horse Called
Golgotha,” these are more for texture and added aggression—the
emphasis remains on the band. This is no one man show but
a collaborative effort.
While what I’m saying is a lot of what makes this album
unique, it’s also what keeps this album from a perfect
score and maybe one of the all-time greats. One or two more
songs like “A Horse Called Golgotha” and we’re
there. “War, Wisdom and Ryhme” is another heavy
fucker, along the lines of some of the more lesser known Sabbath
material, and the tempo also cranks up with the Southern,
classic-rock boogie of “The Gnasher.”
I could go on forever with praise for Blue Record.
Instead, let’s end it by saying that sludge, classic
rock, stoner metal and good ole rock ‘n’ roll
are rarely thrown into a mixing pot like we have here, with
enormous results. I’d recommend this Georgia-based band
to any rock fans looking to broaden their horizons, let their
hair down and flat out jam.
®2010 Live-Metal.net
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