SOUND BITES

H ea d i ng i nt o B a r o ness' f ou rth a lb u m, I h a d c e rt ai n e xp e ct a t io ns f o r th e s o ngwr i t i ng a nd e x e c u t io n; a ft e r all, Y e ll o w/Gr ee n w a s my r u nn e r- u p f o r A lb u m o f th e Y ea r i n 2012, a spr a wl i ng a nd m a j e st i c p ai r o f pl a tt e rs th a t s a w th e b a nd t u rn a c o rn e r styl i st i c a lly a nd br ea k fr ee o f a ny c o nstr ai nts th a t m a y h a v e b ee n pl a c e d u p o n th e m a s a m e t a l a ct. H a pp i ly, P u rpl e s ee s B a r o n e ss i mpr o v e o n wh a t th e y w e r e d oi ng o n Y e ll o w/Gr ee n i n a lm o st e v e ry w a y. I t a v oi ds p o t e nt ia l f a t i g ue by str ea ml i n i ng th e r e c o rd t o ei ght s o ngs pr o p e r a nd a sh o rt i nstr u m e nt a l, c u tt i ng th e r u nn i ng t i m e by o v e r a h a lf h ou r a nd th e r e by l ea v i ng l e ss r oo m f o r f i ll e r (l i k e i t o r n o t, Y e ll o w/Gr ee n d i d h a v e...

As our look back on the year that was catches up to the present (and peeks ever so slightly into the future), it becomes clear that the vast majority of rock artists preferred to avoid the last two months of the year; though it's typically the stronghold time of year for pop superstar stocking stuffers, I still find it just a bit odd to see that two month gap emerge after mid-October with no nominated songs. In fact, that's almost as odd as two established bands deciding to release their albums one week before Christmas. Regardless, our last batch of nominees runs the gamut: here we find new artists to look out for, home grown Maritime talent hitting its stride, and no less than three bands with multiple Album of the Year nominations. Song of the Year nominees #41-50 are:

A couple of weeks back, I mentioned ten awesome and/or important albums that have the distinct privilege of being released during the months of July and August, a virtual musical dead zone where labels keep the good stuff locked in their cupboards for the fall shopping season and have stopped adequately promoting the marquee releases that came out in spring. We covered a good chunk of the 90's during Part 1. Today, let's have a look at 1997-2012, and ten more albums that beat the odds and captured that elusive Summer Greatness.

BARONESS Eula From: Yellow & Green Released: July 17 You have to feel bad for Baroness. After years of slugging it out under the radar in sweaty clubs while releasing some of the most satisfying hard rock/metal albums of the century, they'd just released their best. Yellow & Green is the payoff, the apex after a gruelling climb through the ranks, along the way perfecting their chemistry and songwriting chops. Ignore the metal purists who snubbed them for slowing down a few tempos and daring to incorporate an adventurous, experimental spirit to the album; Yellow & Green is what Baroness had been working so hard for all these years. Of course, just as they were about to reap some real rewards, their tour bus crashed in England, injuring three members badly and postponing their entire lives. Eula is and was the crown jewel on Yellow & Green ; it's a fuse burning ever so slowly toward imminent explosion. When it does, it's huge and cathartic. Its...

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT: May contain Album Of The Year.

My anticipation for Baroness' new album is well documented at this point.  I've already marveled at the pounding Take My Bones Away, and stood in slack-jawed amazement at the accessibility of March To The Sea. The third taste of Yellow & Green (or, more specifically, the third taste of Yellow ; no previews from Green have been released yet) arrived today in the form of closer Eula .  And it is an absolute masterpiece.  Of course.  I'm starting to think that every other band who's releasing an album this year should seriously consider throwing in the towel. According to reports, Yellow (from which all three genre-defying tracks we've heard so far are from) is the heavy half, while Green is more artistic.  It's too late to pander to me, guys; I'm already 100% invested.  See you July 17 (unless there's an album stream beforehand, in which case God bless your awesome souls).

A little while back, we heard the first taste of Baroness' upcoming third (and fourth?) album Yellow & Green in the form of lead single Take My Bones Away .  Upon hearing it I surmised (correctly) that fans of their early, more metallic material, would be spitting venom at Baroness' decision to record a straightforward rock song.  The audacity! If Take My Bones Away was the sound of a band defying closed-minded naysayers, then March To The Sea is the sound of a band planting a cold, muddy boot on the throats of closed-minded naysayers, pointing a pistol to their heads, and demanding that if they don't like change they should stay the fuck away, because what Baroness is doing cannot be confined by genre restrictions and unreasonable expectations. And with that, cue the re-aggravated throng of dum-dums screaming "not metal", "I only like their first two EPs", "they sold out", "I never really liked these guys", and "t...

Early this year, Baroness' record company sent out a tweet asking what impending 2012 release we were most interested in.  Many folks were (understandably) stoked for a new Pig Destroyer album; after all, it's been six years since the incredible grinders have graced us with their presence in recorded form.  However, many fans sided with Baroness, expressing excitement in the direction of the Georgian metallers who enjoyed a pseudo-breakthrough in 2009 with Blue Record .  That album saw a shift away from the band's more extreme tendencies, peppering its tracks with muscular melody.  It was a triumph of a record, one that probably should have reached more ears than it did.  That said, when asked by Relapse for an opinion, sometimes I give one, and responded thusly: