BARONESS
Friday, November 30th
Middle East Downstairs
Cambridge, MA
w/ Witchcraft, Radio Moscow
18+ / $10 ADV / $12 DOS
MySpace: Baroness

The debut EP First by Savannah's Baroness was a bit of al ife-changer. More of a life-reinvigorator. Produced by Phillip Cope of Kylesa, the three tracks harnessed much that had been missing from the blend of technical metal with a heavy dose of stoner meticulousity. To call the Southeast band "metal" is a great injustice. The word alone will drive away enough potential fanatics who don't really want to touch bands that fall under that genre because of the chaotic state its been in for years. The commodification of heavy metal, and the explosion of social networking that allows some incredibly mediocre, under-rehearsed "metal" bands to gain 15 or more minutes of fame.

But enough of the ranting - Baroness are none of these things. It is instead a tight collective of epic and instrumental crescendos that often explode into fitting vocals whose lyrics may or may not matter depending on the listener. Though sonically they don't come too close to Converge - the local godfathers of metalcore and Deathwish Records - the use of all-instrumentation combined with crafty time and key changes are the cherries all over the top of this cake. Their current LP, The Red Album, is currently popping up on just about everyone's Top Ten list this year.

Be sure to catch them open for Witchcraft (from Sweden) at the Middle East Downstairs tonight. http://mideastclub.com