*New Baroness release “Yellow and Green” adds elements of 90’s alternative rock  to their sludge metal sound

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If you’ve read my blog for a while now, you know that  I think most modern music sucks, and lament the lack of heavy rock with a bit of melody. It’s either anemic pop or cookie monster metal.

But there’s been signs of life. I recently reviewed Silversun Pickups and love their twist on the Pumpkin’s alt-rock template. And I reviewed Snailface, a new band that’s doing  cool stoner rock. Red Fang, Truckfighters, and Torche are also filling a badly needed void.

And now we have “Yellow And Green” the newest release from Georgia Metal band Baroness. They’re from the same Southern sludge metal scene as Mastodon, Kylesa , etc.

And like Mastodon’s “The Hunter”, Baroness are taking a stab towards the mainstream, drawing from elements of 90’s alternative as well as classic rock. In many ways this is an even more risky move, as ‘Yellow and Green‘ is mellower than ‘The Hunter’ which might alienate them from the hardcore metal crowd. But I like it just fine.

Making a double album  in this era of MP3’s is always ballsy, and “Yellow and Green” is surprising in that it still feels lean and not overstuffed. It’s split into 2 sides; “Yellow” and “Green” naturally. Neither side are that tonally or lyrical different though, but that’s not a slight. Perhaps they just had too much good material to sit on the shelf.

“Take My Bones Away” the lead off single has a great stoner riff with nice warbly arpeggios and sets the overall mood for the album.

“March To The Sea” is a rock anthem with elements of the Smashing Pumpkins given its rollicking tribal beat and melodic double tracked guitar solo.

“Little Things” has a nice Goth intro riff that sounds almost identical to the Sisters Of Mercy track “Black Planet”, but then evolves into a moody classic rock vibe ala Pink Floyd or the Doors.

Songs like “Twinkler” , “Back Where I Belong”  and “Green Theme” take elements of art rock stylings from bands like Mogwai and Godspeed Your Black Emperor, and “Eula” merges a spectral Radiohead guitar soundscape with a Tom Morello-style Whammy Pedal solo.

“Board Up The House” has a great riff that’s a hybrid of southern rock with Dave Navarro style riffing. If that sounds odd it is, but it totally works.

And I really love the psychedelic vibe of tracks like “Foolsong” and “Collapse”. They’re atmospheric and haunting. Good stuff.

The only song I dislike is “Psalms Alive”. It has a heavy emo vibe, and I’m just not a fan of that sound.

What makes this album clever, is that despite the influences, they’re not immediately obvious, and the 90’s grunge stylings don’t sound warmed over or sterile. That’s always the hallmark of a great band, when one can internalize their influences and make something valid in it’s own right.

Peter Adams and John Baizely’s guitar riffs and tones are intricate and well produced. Baizley also does double duty on bass and he fluid bass lines ably support the riffage. Allan Blickle’s drumming is solid and provides a sturdy undercurrent to the material.

I do wish I liked the vocals more. I totally appreciate that Adams and Baizley are singing and not shrieking, but they’re a tad pitch challenged, and when they try to harmonize it can often sound diametrically opposed to the melodies they’ve constructed so intricately with their instrumentation. This isn’t a deal breaker though. I just keep waiting for the next powerhouse rock vocalist to emerge and no one’s filled that void yet.

Final verdict?

If you were majorly into the Savannah sludge metal sound, you might find this album a bit too light for your tastes, but if you’re like me and like some harmony in your riffing, you’ll find a lot to like in “Yellow and Green”.

You can preview or purchase from iTunes from the link below, and if you click on the album image you can get the cd or vinyl from Amazon.

[itunes id=”538195776″]

[amazon_image id=”B0081G3MWI” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Yellow & Green (Deluxe)[/amazon_image]