Review: Baroness - Yellow & Green

Yellow & Green, the third full-length album from southern sludgesters Baroness, has found itself on a lot of “Most Anticipated Albums of the Year” lists, and for good reason.  Yellow & Green was announced as a double album, which meant twice as much Baroness as expected, and the band’s first two records, Red and Blue were hailed as filling the void in sludgy heavy metal left by Mastodon’s divergence into prog territory; also they were great albums that showcased the band’s impressive skills.  And so the excitement has been building steadily for Yellow & Green for very nearly a year, with fans excited to rejoice is what was sure to be another sludge masterpiece.  But then something weird happened.  People who had listened to the album began using words like “poppy” and “radio-friendly” to describe it.  The first song Baroness released from the album, “Take My Bones Away,” featured harmonious vocals in place of the beastly bellows of lead singer John Baizley, and the next two (“March to the Sea” and “Eula”) followed suit.  Was it a joke?  Was Baroness sacrificing their place in metal’s royal lineage for the safety of radio rock? Were people jumping to ridiculous conclusions after reading reviews and hearing only a sixth of Yellow & Green’s music?

Get the answers to these questions after the jump…

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Revolution......Engage

First off, let me wish all of you out there a happy Friday the 13th!  It shouldn't be to hard to decide on what kind of movie marathon you should take part of today.

This weeks WDILF post comes from my recent, but not so surprising, metalcore obsession.  As the title may suggest, I'm certainly not pulling from any obscure bands here.

Check it out after the break. 

Exclusive Interview - Trevor de Brauw (Pelican)

This past Friday, personal favorites and hometown band Pelican dropped by Lincoln Hall in Chicago to put their instrumental post-metal/sludge/post-apocalyptic tangocore on display for an enthusiastic crowd.  The band certainly didn't disappoint, ripping energetically through favorites like "Ephemeral," "The Creeper," "Embedded in the Moss," along with tracks from their newest EP Ataraxia/Taraxis, in front of a roaring crowd.  Before this hour of awesome, however, Mick and I were lucky enough to sit down with Trevor de Brauw, guitarist of Pelican, and talk about the band's plans, their recent tour experiences, and some of the joys of being an audiophile.  He was a really cool dude, and really great to chat with, so check out our interview, embedded below.

- Durf