The Shape Of Metal To Come

I recently purchased the new Baroness album "Blue Record" and have been spinning it non-stop for about a week. This is a follow-up, actually more of a companion piece to "Red Album" which was released in 2007 and named Revolver magazine's "Best Album of 2007". For those who are not familiar with Baroness, think Mastodon with influences of The Moody Blues, The Allman Brothers Band, Thin Lizzy and King Crimson. You could either categorize "Blue Record" as a metal or hard rock album as it has a classic rock groove throughout. Even those not into extreme hard core metal would appreciate this album as it grooves with a definite Southern rock vibe. Much of this is due to the production of John Congleton who has also produced The Roots, William Elliott Whitmore, and one of the best albums of 2008, Black Mountain's "In The Future." That all being said, this album is still METAL through and through!



Best tracks: "A Horse Called Golgotha", "War, Wisdom and Rhyme" and "Swollen and Halo."

Rating: 4 out of 5