Review by Adam M on December 17, 2015.

Baroness has put an emphasis on the more rock and progressive leanings of their music in recent times and this shines through with Purple. This album jives along at a nice rock pace throughout, but doesn’t hide the quality of the guitar riffs that are shining through in the background. The effect that the band has is a psychedelic one that hearkens back to the older days of rock and roll, but pushes forward with a production job that is suited for the future.

The beginning of the album is superb with the highlight tracks Shock Me and Try to Disappear making their mark. These tracks are highly addictive and memorable excursions. The remainder of the album maintains a high level of quality throughout. When compared directly to the previous album, there is a slight lack of freshness that holds the songs slightly back from the Yellow side. Still, they are potent and highly euphoric songs that are a welcome sight with the slow later portion of the year for music. The vocals are unusual and appropriate for the tracks at hand. Again, this vocalist asserts his presence on top of the songs in a fine fashion. The guitars are fuzzy to the extreme and fit nicely with the remainder of the music. All in all the instrumentation is quite well done, though nothing overly technical. Baroness has a strong grasp on these rock pieces, however, and makes them heard quite clearly. Unlike Mastodon, their music still manages to have a huge impact on the listener and keep them gripped for more. This music is exciting and worthwhile to the core.

With the progression the band has been taking it will be interesting to see what they come up with next. Hopefully, there are no overt attempts to pander towards commerciality. As it stands, Purple is solid stuff.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10