Baroness / Blue Record
Not due out until next month, but it squirted its way onto the web recently. Any web-savvy metal nerd worth his/her weight in chain mail will know how to get it.
You’ll be hearing much more about Baroness this coming year. I’ve had this on repeat all week, drowning in the sludge.
\m/
Story time!
In March 2005 I moved to the humid and eerily charming Savannah Georgia. On my move-in day I spent the morning and early afternoon busting my entire body to move every last item and return my truck before the rental office closed. The first place I went after that was a coffee shop called the Sentient Bean, where on a bulletin board I saw a familiar name: MUNICIPAL WASTE on a flyer for a show, that night, in Savannah.
“Wow” I thought, “a band I really like, and they are playing here tonight on my first day in town — Savannah is AWESOME” Little did I realize how stupidly lucky I was, not only that the Waste was playing (they came back once in the next four years) and that two other bands I had never seen or heard of before were playing: KYLESA and BARONESS, but also, I would never again see a show quite as cool as I did that night in Savannah.
This metal show was outside in a little parking lot close to a Popeye’s chicken. There was this big out-of-place concrete stage that was at one end of the lot. Municipal Waste and Kylesa were excellent, but I was most impressed with the openers, Baroness. They were extremely tight, and LOUD, but the character of their songs were laid back. The song parts were well thought out, almost soothing… which is strange, because, well, it’s metal.
As I would come to understand, It’s truly the South — the lowcountry — imbued into heavy metal. And now, four and a half years later, I’m still impressed and inspired by what this band is putting out. If you like heavy music at all, and if you haven’t already indulged, I highly recommend you do so.
And, thanks to Google Maps street view, you can take a tour of the place I saw that awesome show, the first time I saw Baroness. (Popeye’s is right around the corner on Bull street)
I remember this show! It was right across the street from my old apartment (and yours too I guess, former 40th St neighbor). I love Baroness, good dudes and the new album is really killer.
