RED ALBUM

Baroness' 'Red Album' is a work of beauty. From the beginning ambiance of a soft-guitar introduction to the very last note, this album is a journey through a post-metal piece of artwork.

'The Red Album' is a perfect mix of post-metal, sludge, post-rock, and melodious rock with a small helping of southern United States soul. Think of a less-crushing, yet more proggy Mastodon (pre-'Crack the Skye') with slightly more southern twang. The main vocal duties are performed by guitarist John Baizley in the form of shouts (similar to Mastodon), with the help of the higher-pitched Summer Welch, who is also the bassist. The guitars have that common sludgy tone which works well this vocals as well as with the rest of the instruments. The guitar harmonies in this album are top-notch, and are very common throughout.

The bass guitar and the percussion (Allen Blickle) are pounding, strong elements and form an extremely tight rhythm section. A lot of this album is instrumental; the band manages to create some very well thought-out song structures, after all. Black Sabbath, Mastodon, King Crimson and Isis are all bands comparable to Baroness. There are many bands who try to meld the above mentioned bands together, and too often they fail. Baroness are one of the few bands who succeed and manage to create such an original sound, despite their influences. They mix perfectly the atmospheric, dreamy elements with sludgy riffage and throw in a serving of melody to go along with it.

The key tracks to this album include: "Rays on Pinion", "Isak", "Wailing Wintry Wind", "Aleph", and the wonderful closer, "Grad". Make no mistake, all of the tracks are purely enjoyable, some are just slightly better than others.

All in all, a spectacular album. Everyone should give it a try. I give this album a 4.2 stars out of 5... excellent, in a word.

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