Review by Dakota Nelson

RIYL: Mastodon, Kylesa, Black Tusk

Recommended Tracks: Track 1 “Morning Star”

Track 7 “The Iron Bell”

Grade: C-

Baroness is a heavy metal sludge band from Savannah Georgia. Releasing their fourth studio album Baroness has pulled back from their last album and went back their roots for a more aggressive sound.

Baroness’ previous double album, Green and Yellow, left longtime fans disappointed. Instead of harsh in your face music Baroness went for a more melodic and toned down approach. Leaving many longtime fans, myself included, disappointed. The first single that was released for Purple was “Chlorine and Wine” which sounded very much like a track off Green and Yellow.

Surprisingly the first track off Purple sounds like it could be off their first or second album. The next few tracks carry this energy and the album had promise. However the momentum slowly died after that. Going back to sounding more like rock than metal Baroness doesn’t push for a new sound like they had in previous albums.

Towards the end there are a few tracks where they went back to full on heavy metal but at that point they almost feel like a fan service rather than them trying to make music. Baroness have always been about expressing emotions in their songs, but in an aggressive way that could connect with the listener.

At the risk of sounding pretentious Baroness have released a more accessible album, bringing something from all of their albums up to this point. But the downside of making a more accessible album is that it’s a less cathartic one. If you’ve not listened to a lot of metal before and want to get into it this is a good album to start with. If you’re a metalhead and want an album to head bang to, look elsewhere.