It’s almost sky fire day, and I’m getting in the mood for beer and explosions with the latest LP from southern sludge and progressive metal melody mavens
Baroness,
Gold and Grey. The group has managed to gain serious steam since 2015’s
Purple (which snagged them a Grammy nomination) with increasingly euphonious and complex compositions that retain the gritty undertow of their earlier work. They’re like an arena-ready manifestation of Kylesa who you can listen to with your partner who prefers Stevie Nicks’ post-Fleetwood material over Ozzy’s post-Sabbath bellowing.
Gold & Grey is the first album the band has released since the departure of guitarist Pete Adams, with former Cirque du Soleil (yes, THAT one) performer Gina Gleason taking up his axe. Gleason is already a crowd favorite and if you have seen the band live then you already know how exhilarating it is to watch her tear through a scorching solo. So where should you start with this behemoth? I recommend the lead-off single “Borderlines” with its gooey psychedelia, sun-parched, interlocking guitar rhythms and enormous vocal harmonies, it’s an excellent primer for the rest of the album, feeling very old while at the same time fresh and evocative. The rushing and explosive grooves of “Front Toward Enemy,” the roiling, resonate blues of “Broken Halo” are perfectly crafted to soundtrack the shock and astonishment of firework season, while the swaying melody and glowing space-rock preoccupation “Throw Me An Anchor” and the loft, dusty diamond studded “Tourniquet” will help you mellow out as the smoke clears off the horizon.
Gold & Grey is an iconic feeling and incendiary additional to Baroness’s already worthy catalog, as well as the punchy pyre I need to ignite the fuse on this week’s festivities.
