Sound It Out Records

As far as I’m concerned, we should all start calling Mastodon “that other metal band from Savannah”, because Baroness has taken up the helm as THE metal band from Savannah. While Mastodon spent this year beating metal to death, basically becoming Lamb of God in the process, Baroness have apparently been working on bringing metal back to life. Blue Record is the result of their work, and it is hands down the best metal album I have heard in a long time.

What is metal, anyway? This question is very important to be able to evaluate this record. Can metal be beautiful? Can metal be danceable? I think the common view of metal is something that is crushing, with an overwhelming low end. This is certainly what that other metal band from Savannah has been working on, but let’s face it: Crushing. Is. Over. Converge did it, and Converge did it better, so just give the fuck up or take metal somewhere new. Baroness has opted for the latter, and metal thanks them.

The album starts off in a pretty traditional way, with a “Master of Puppets” sounding intro track leading into something reminiscent of that other metal band from Savannah. But after about a minute or so, they start to move away from that typical “metal” sound. Really melodic vocals. A drummer who doesn’t have to show off (!). Basically it’s the sound of band that knows they can kick your ass, but they’ve moved beyond trying to prove it. Metallica is still trying to prove they can kick my ass, and I still don’t believe them.

The whole album is filled with unusual (for metal anyway) song structures, warm production that makes everything sound so much better than your typical metal album, and wicked-ass guitar. I don’t know what pedals these guys are using, but they’ve got some good ones. They’re really bringing a southern rock element into metal, and it works really well.

In addition to an original take on metal, there are some songs that put a metal edge on some stuff that is definitely not metal. I’m pretty sure the drummer from Muse is on “O’er Hell and Hide”, making perhaps the first ever “dance-metal” song. And I’m pretty sure “Steel that Sleeps the Eye” is what the Fleet Foxes were going for, only far more interesting. That song leads into the six-and-a-half minute “Swollen and Halo”, which I can’t even begin to describe, so I’ll just say that this is the song that cements these guys as the saviors of metal. No one has done anything this original with metal for almost 20 years.

Bringing the record to its climax, “The Gnashing” starts off sounding like an Allman Brothers* song. Then the drums kick in, and it REALLY sounds like an Allman Brothers song. Then it picks up, builds, and turns into what is probably the most beautiful metal song I’ve ever heard, if I’m allowed to say that word. It’s really inspiring stuff, and an amazing way to finish an amazing album.

So while some idiots may not see this as “true metal”, it’s really about as true as you’re gonna get. It’s metal with some fucking soul, which is what the shit needs right now. So the naysayers can take their fucking Dethklok or whatever bullshit is popular now and go to hell, because I’m going to Savannah, GA, where metal is being reborn, and Baroness is making it better than ever before.

*Kyle gets credit for the Allman Brothers comparison.