Baroness & Unpersons "A Grey Sigh in a Flower Husk"

One of Relapse Records' latest signees, Baroness plays lumbering metal that sounds straight from the swamps of the deep South. It's thicker and murkier than mud, heavier than the oppressively humid air, totally sludgy and, at times, pretty fuckin' ominous. I'm often reminded of Kylesa, who have a similar sense of grit and sludginess, but Baroness is perhaps a bit more adventurous and ambitious. The band's two songs are expansive (six and 12 minutes long), providing more than enough time for the group to reach outside the pure sludge arena and bring in some drawn-out instrumental segues, rock influences, and more angular guitar riffs and rhythms. The pained screams and shouts echo of Isis' Aaron Turner, so they sound right at home and only add to Baroness' frequent explosions of crushing heaviness.

Unpersons simply can't carry Baroness' graceful songwriting and satisfying heaviness into the second part of the split; their sound is much more frenetic and dissonant. The band unleashes some sweet, memorable riffs, but the slurred rambles and shouts and screams can be awful. It kind of sounds only half serious, so the songs lose a lot of the force they could have. I'm not all that into their style.

Still, A Grey Sigh in a Flower Husk is worth noting for Baroness' awesome songs alone. Here's the first one: Baroness - Teiresias

This split features beautiful cover art that might look familiar. Its creator, John Baizley, who is Baroness' guitarist and singer, also did the cover art for Darkest Hour's Deliver Us and Pig Destroyer's Phantom Limb. Nice.

You can pick up the split from Relapse Records' store.