Baroness "First" CD
[Hyperrealist]
Nice... after a few seconds of noise this EP opens up into some rhythmically focused material with lots of creative picking patterns and dissonantly melodic chord progressions. Stylistically there's a little bit of everything from sludgy discordance and chunky math metal to melodic and crusty hardcore/punk (the latter is especially prominent vocally, as the burly screams/shouts are forceful and in line with a few notable acts). "Coeur" is the shortest track at just over three minutes, but even in this concise framework and with a few straightforward, driving chord progressions they still fuck with some Iron Maiden-esque dual guitar runs and strange chord phrasings to keep the constant sense of eerie melody in play. "Rise" opens layering distant tapping riffs (including some bass tapping) with excellently dirty tones, and vocals don't show up until more than three minutes in. This is certainly the most diverse and vibrant track herein, with tons of dynamic shifts and tempo changes with some truly powerful atmospheres - not to mention a killer percussive performance that relies heavily on feeling around the other instruments. The recording is pretty damn good. During some of the more caustic riffing higher on the neck the guitar tone can get a little thin and choppy, and I do think the raw texture of the distortion could be retained with a louder and more over the top distortion level, but the rhythm section and vocals sound awesome, and at its finest moments everything locks together nicely. A thicker, louder guitar tone could be truly punishing, but the clarity and natural warmth of the production is definitely cool. The layout looks really good here. The color scheme is minimal, basically black and white with a little metallic gold, and that works great with the artwork. The cover has a 70's sort of design/lettering thing going on, and the back has a killer ink illustration that's more detailed. Inside are the brief lyrics with some great high contrast band photos that get pretty abstract. The content of the songs is interesting as well: "Have you ever seen the scarlet day, Or felt the calloused hands of age, You till the ground and bring to home, Muscle flesh and blood to bone, Taste this oaken grain, Grab its horns and not the reins." I'm into this. This is one of those records that's a damn fine example of what's to come, so I'm expecting this band to destroy me in the future. Absolutely one to watch. Throw His Hero is Gone, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden into a blender with assorted other nuances of their respective genres and the result would be along these lines. Very cool. (7/10)
Running time - 16:57, Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: all three are pretty damn good, but "Rise" is the real winner]
Hyperrealist - http://www.hyperrealist.com

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