Baroness

Baroness fuse the raw force and technical precision of twenty-first-century metal with melodic inflections and incisive guitar lines shaped by indie rock and post-punk. Formed in Savannah, Georgia, the quartet surfaced in 2004 via two EPs before delivering their first full-length outing, Red Album, on Relapse Records in 2007. Their 2009 follow-up Blue Record marked the group’s initial appearance on the charts, elevating Baroness within a widening metal landscape that connected indie and progressive rock with stoner and sludge styles. Momentum from that release cleared the path for the double album Yellow & Green in 2012 and the exploratory Gold & Grey in 2019, while their sixth studio effort Stone arrived in 2023.

All four founding members—guitarist and vocalist John Baizley, guitarist Brian Blickle, bassist Summer Welch, and drummer Allen Blickle—originated in Lexington, Virginia, yet relocated to Georgia upon assembling the band in mid-2003. Baroness issued their first recording, the three-track EP First, through Savannah’s Hyperrealist Records in 2005, followed later that year by the similarly titled Second. In 2006 the band collaborated with fellow Savannah outfit Unpersons on the split release A Grey Sigh in a Flower Husk, issued by At a Loss Records. Signing with Relapse Records brought their debut long-player Red Album near the close of 2007 and prompted extensive roadwork; guitarist Pete Adams replaced Brian Blickle the next year. Blue Record emerged in 2009, after which Baroness supported Metallica, Mastodon, and Deftones before returning to the studio for the widely praised double album Yellow & Green, released in 2012.

While touring England after that album, the band suffered a serious crash when their bus plunged thirty feet from a viaduct near Bath. Though several members and crew sustained injuries—including a broken arm and leg for Baizley and fractured vertebrae for Allen Blickle and bassist Matt Maggioni, who had succeeded Welch—no lives were lost. Following recovery, Baroness resumed booking shows in 2013, yet soon announced the departures of Blickle and Maggioni. Nick Jost on bass and Sebastian Thomson on drums joined in their stead, making their live debut on a headlining run later that year; the concert recording Live at Maida Vale appeared in summer 2013 and became the final release featuring the pre-accident lineup.

Encouraged by Metallica’s James Hetfield, who had endured a comparable incident, Baroness regrouped with producer Dave Fridmann to track ten songs reflecting the crash, its consequences, and their resolve to persist. Purple, released on the band’s own Abraxan Hymns imprint at the end of 2015, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the track “Shock Me.” Pete Adams exited in 2017 to prioritize family life, opening the door for Philadelphia guitarist Gina Gleason, whose studio debut came on the ambitious double album Gold & Grey in 2019.

Festival appearances across the United States and Europe drew widespread praise from both critics and audiences. During the COVID-19 pandemic the members continued writing in isolation, generating more than twenty-five songs; even after resuming live dates in 2021, composition persisted, eventually yielding over forty tracks. In June 2023 they announced their sixth album Stone alongside the advance single “Last Word,” followed by “Beneath the Rose” in July and “Shine” in August. Stone appeared in September, featuring ten tracks produced by the band and mixed by Joe Barresi.