Baroness - Stone (2023)^{Release ID: 47329}

The first full length album from Baroness since 2019, and the first to not feature colours in the album title. That should be enough to alert longtime fans of this group that this will be a bit of a departure from the bands familiar stoner rock/metal sound.

Well, calling STONE a dramatic departure might be a bit of an exaggeration. The heavier aspects of Red and Blue albums have returned instead of the more tranquil Purple album, and many of the mixing issues that I had with Gold & Grey have all but disappeared. It makes STONE into a very nice record that feels comfortable, but also unique in certain places.

However these unique aspects are not necessarily for the best. I can immediately think of the unbroken trifecta of tracks "Beneath the Rose", "Choir" and "The Dirge" in its presentation. "Beneath the Rose" has its own problems with the way the galloping guitar riff is mixed, but "Choir" feels like a half formed idea, while "The Dirge" acts more as an interlude than anything useful to the previous two acts.

The rest of the performances are usually well done. I really enjoy the multi-vocal layerings on "Last Word", "Shine" and the closer "Bloom", the guitar work, while spotty, is very tasteful and acts independently from the bass, while the percussion is quietly robust and impactful. Normally when you hear technical percussion (especially on heavier metal albums), it can sound flat-footed and the blockiness of the kick and snare drums distracts from the important melodic songwriting, but Baroness do not have that problem here. The only real issue is the albums structure. The songs "Anodyne" and "Bloom" are both very good, but these shorter tracks cannot compare to the records longer, jam-esque songs like "Last Word" and "Shine".

STONE almost feels transitory, but I'm not sure if that was Baroness' intention. It's a mixture of all things Baroness throughout their Colours album saga; refining the lesser aspects of the double albums (Yellow & Green and Gold & Grey) with the more direct Red and Blue albums. It's a formula that should work, but I don't think I enjoy STONE as much as Baroness' best.

Best Songs: Last Word, Anodyne, Shine, Under the Wheel