beautiful...

Artwork is incredible per usual.

Mmmmmmmmmmm. Naked sirens carrying over-sized seafood! (Droooooool)

I never even heard the Blue album. But talk of a double disk extravaganza gets my prog cells flowing through the bloodstream.

I had a long drive this past Tuesday night after work, so I revisited Blue Album based on this recent Baroness chatter. That disc just has no hooks, no teeth, and frankly little depth...which is what I admired about Red Album so much. Baroness had replaced Mastodon for my heavy prog w/ vocals fanboy band...but similarly, dropped a dud and lost me. Is this Yes and Genesis phasing out of the late 70s? I don't know, but if it's not interesting or catchy, I don't get it.

Drove to STL for the Cards-Brewers weekend series, but got in early enough to go and check out Baroness last night w/ Royal Thunder...had no clue what to expect from Royal Thunder, but I was floored...the vocalist has a set of big time pipes, and by that I mean she was channeling Heart while the band churned out a brew of pre-Badmotorfinger Soundgarden, psych and doom...the "clean-singing-over-snare-crashes-and-apocalyptic-doom riffs" works very well for Royal Thunder...totally different animal than Christian Mistress, a band they get lumped in with.

As for Baroness, they've become a helluva live band (far better live than on record), and last night was no exception...was pleasantly surprised to hear more Red Album and early EP tunes than I expected...they played two new songs in their entirety, and what sounded like a 1-2 minute snippet of another new song...the new songs were up-tempo w/ catchy, albeit howled, choruses, but they sounded more like streamlined Red Album-era tunes (i.e. "Isak") than anything from the dreaded new Mastodon album...the dueling guitar play in both songs was damn impressive - much more so than anything they did on the Blue Album...while I'm a little less skeptical about the upcoming double album being a big play for commercial appeal, they only played two songs off it...so the jury is still out...helluva show though.

I don't think doing a double album is the right way to go if they were hoping for commercial success.

^ Right...I'm not saying it is...just saying that there is a degree of concern about it due, in large part, to recent band interviews...anytime words and phrases like "streamlined," "hooks," and "less guitar oriented" enter the fray, it's bound to get some attention...I also think some of the skepticism has to do with the unfair perception that Baroness is a Mastodon clone.

at this point, Mastodon could only be saved by them striving to be a Baroness clone.

I'm really looking forward to the new one(s).

FACT

Crack the Skye remains my favorite Mastodon album, so while The Hunter kinda blew I am not yet on the Mastodon is lost bandwagon. Yeah, I fear they opened a door that they can't close with this attempt at mass appeal an all but I am willing to give them this one pass since in my eyes its just one bad album.

Baroness....I think they are alright but I don't get all the love sent their way. I have had all their albums over time, I have also traded in all their albums.

am i only one who feels this band never really lived up to there early hype? first two eps had some potential rolling, then load after load of hype and everyone gooshed red when that album came out but was fairly repetitive and un momentous. blue wasn't no step up, i'm not holding my breath that this new color conbination is going to change my mind anything fierce.

Remember! Remember! The 5th of November!

A MUNDO!

This shit is nuts. Yeah, the last Mastodon wasn't good (but it wasn't a complete stinker either), but that's a band that has probably an accumulated three albums of classic material. Baroness have yet to put together one. 'Red Album' was good, but 'Blue Album' was farting-out-loud-in-church offensive. Even with the less-than-stellar last album, I don't understand the willingness to throw Mastodon under the bus. They are the "our band" that has actually accomplished something and pushed the envelope to some degree. Unless you count QotSA, but he really never wanted to be associated with "us" not that far after the get-go.

wait.
The Blue Album had no hooks, didnt live up to the potential of the EPs, and was farting in church offensive (but the last mastodon didnt stink)?

3 different posts.... I know

Obviously I have a different copy of the blue album.
also:



the whole "us" thing, and "our" scene stuff is precious, though.

I've walked out on both those bands live. Forget scene etc. They're both uninteresting.

That was Mastodon in 2009, Baroness similar time.

That whole thing is me trying to figure out the math of throwing Mastodon under the bus (who have a decade of being pretty bad-ass and groundbreaking in their own way) while folks are jacking off over a similar/more emo/disjointed band with a laughable singer. I'm "trying" to read into why you folks think this band is anything special outside of what you already have.

Maybe the new Baroness will blow us all away and supplant what we think Beard Metal is/should be, but I'm willing to bet it will be way below what the median 'The Obelisk' forum viewer would rank as 'Remission' or 'Crack the Skye' as acceptable.

Nobody here thought 'Blue Album' was good? Right? At least 'The Hunter' kind of felt like a Mastodon record.

I like everything Baroness has done, no lie. Blue Album included. I wish it sounded slightly different, but live it makes up for it.

I've no love for Baroness for an entirely 'scene' reason:

Travelled up to London to see Taint, support slot for Baroness, and the place was full to bursting with check-shirt and sailor tattoo wankers meaning I couldn't get in to see the boyos. I'd be surprised if they bought Taint albums off the merch.

Never forgive them.

;-)

Purty pictures though.

Mastodon?
Meh.

Why does mastodon get thrown under the bus? Well from my viewpoint, it's because they've completely changed their style of music to sell more copies. They have this overblown "prog metal" schtick going on that doesn't really mesh with what I enjoyed about the band back in the Remission days. Laughable vocals are a big part of their downfall in my eyes.

I, personally, love the Blue record. I love the Red album too. to me Baroness' progression from their first EP which, truthfully, sounded like 50% mastodon & 50% isis to the blue record seems natural, not geared toward sales. To my ears they are a band that is maturing, whereas
Mastodon seems to be stagnating since Leviathan.
Of course this is all apples and oranges, but it might be telling that when I want to hear "new" Mastodony stuff, i just skip that band altogether and listen to American Heritage.

I'm with Mr.Red. I don't get the hate on Mastodon and the hype for Baroness. I've seen both a few times. I only have the Blue album from Baroness and i find it extremely underwhelming. Same with their live show. I have all of the Mastodon albums, except for the Hunter, and listen to them all the time. And while i wouldn't go as far as saying that Mastodon could still wipe the floor with Baroness in a live setting, I think Mastodon used to have that energy and it still shows up every once in a while.

Theres a girl with a giant shrimp under her arm, that's cool

this.
but Baroness didnt impress?? maybe they need an every once-in-awhile attitude.
or people fighting for "beard rock" whatever that means.