When Baroness release the Red Album in 2007 they earned themselves a considerable amount of metal credibility, their crunching, screaming metal shocks segueing seamlessly into droney stoner anthems. With the Blue Record the band has taken this formula and injected a great deal of progressiveness, much in the same way Mastodon managed to achieve with Crack the Skye. Exploring the same dark, naturalistic tops of yesteryear but featuring increasingly bizarre and markedly different instrumentation, complete with searing whip-crack riffs and the utilization of additional vocalists, Baroness’ sophomore LP features a natural expansion of growing artistry. Here’s hoping this rainbow of records continues to grow.

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