When a travel accident stroke BARONESS back in 2012, everything seemed to lead into the band’s disbanding. Drummer Allen Blickle and the bassist Matt Maggioni quitted the band, injured both physically and mentally, while everyone else was injured and shocked by their near-death experience. The future of BARONESS seemed in turmoil but John Baizley, the band’s guitarist, vocalist and main composer healed and carried on, creating ‘Purple’, the record which would bring the band back to life, with fresh new members and fresh ideas.
The very first someone notices in ‘Purple’, is the fact that the record does not include melancholic moments. It is a record that celebrates life in every possible way. A near-death experience has changed the way the remaining members reflected life and of course changed the way they reflected their inspirations in music. As a result, the ‘Purple’ record is packed with lively melodies, bright guitar riffs and calm, distorted vocals. There may be similarity with ‘Yellow & Green’, but the band has stripped dynamic riffs and aggressive musical lines out of their music.
‘Purple’ contains only ten songs, with an instrumental one and an encore, something that gives the opportunity to the listener to memorize every song easily, without having to dig into the record for days or months. ‘Try to Disappear’ and ‘Morningstar’ are the best moments into ‘Purple’, with the chorus’ vocal lines and the whole music structure to be considered as orgasmic. Calmed down riffs and colorful break-downs, such as those in ‘Kerosene’ should be appreciated, with the band to have created a positive record, a bright one for the fans to listen to when they need to get carried away from a bad day. The early days of Baroness, the sludge days, seem to have gone forever, with their music to be able to walk through metal and indie rock easily, along with shoegaze and many more music genres mixed together.
As far as the lyrics are concerned, in ‘Chlorine and Wine’ we have a straight reference to the car accident that cost so much to the band. The specific song also has something of Pink Floyd in it, a vibe that I seem to get every time I listen to it, especially in its instrumental parts. A light melancholy but with a tone of gaiety can be found in the lyrical parts, living the listener to enjoy their touching messages along with their colorful melodies.
‘Purple’ is a record for life. A record which states that it is alive; it is kicking and rocking, while everything in life seems strangely unique and lovely. John Baizley states that he will never abandon music and the specific record reflects it. After all, music is one of the factors which keep us alive in the end of the day.
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