Baroness is set to release their sixth studio album on September 15. The Grammy-nominated heavy rock band is releasing STONE “refocused and rethought.” Early praise for the album says tracks “reflect thoughtfully, groove deeply and refract tumult effortlessly.” STONE began back in 2020, while it was not a pandemic record, it was written during the darkest days of that tumultuous year, garnering the emotions of anxiety, relief and resolve. The pandemic did allow the band to isolate and throw themselves into this album. Founding member John Baizley says “An important through line in Baroness is we don’t like to repeat ourselves. It’s all about the willingness to take risks.” Those risks have paid off with this album!
I really love the plot twist of the album with its intro song “Embers” starting out so mellow and folksy, then the next track “Last Word” connects with that song and goes the heaviest direction it can go with face-melting speed guitar riffs and heavy growling chords. These two tracks feel like an extension of one another, I thought they were the same song with how seamlessly they flowed into each other. The lyrics even seem to have a dialog with each other with “Embers” saying “I lost my senses, I lost my way, I can’t remember why,” and the response of “Last Word” answering “I remember every last word, I remember It all.”
“The Dirge” is like that opening track that causes the listener to take pause. The harmonies in the vocals is beautiful with the stripped acoustic guitar sounding folksy again, then it slips into “The Anodyne” which throws the listener into a heavier rhythm and continues those harmonic vocals a bit. This is another duo that plays a call and response to one another going hand-in-hand in theme, but completely different ends of the spectrum in sounds. In “The Dirge,” the short song states “when my ship is sailing, when my race is run, when my breath is failing, I’ll know my time has come.” “The Anodyne” responds with similar visuals of an ocean, but a common theme of going to that end with someone: “in dreams we fall together, in my dreams we’re going to fall forever. Where the surface meets the sky, there’s my anodyne. Take me to the ocean, lead me through the waves, hold me underwater.”
This album is masterfully pieced together. It has the hard rock sound for metal lovers, but then mixes beautiful vocals to attract folk lovers, and the lyrics of each track have so much depth to them, the listener can study them each listen and get something new from them. Even the album art is beautiful with its vibrant colors and again, needing to be studied to see all the individual pieces of art that create the larger piece of art.
There is a vinyl record available for this album release, as well as streaming on every major platform. Baroness will also be on tour beginning in October. You can find tour dates at yourbaroness.com.
Tracklist:
Embers
Last Word
Beneath the Rose
Choir
The Dirge
The Anodyne
Shine
Magnolia
Under The Wheel
Bloom
