Comeback tours are generally bullshit, a ploy for has-beens and American Idol C-listers to make a few bucks off of nostalgia and a former notoriety. They tend to be gross displays of ego and wholly undeserved. Veteran metal act Baroness, however, has earned its return to stage in spades. Long story short: while touring last year the band suffered a near-fatal bus accident, broke a lot of bones, spent a lot of hours in physical therapy, and then had its rhythm section resign. For a time it seemed the Savannah, Georgia-based sludge/prog/metal quartet might be done for. Thankfully, Baroness is back, touring once more and playing with a greatly renewed sense of purpose, as shown in an intense and cathartic set at Boston’s Royale.
Atlanta’s Royal Thunder, the evening’s sole opener, played a quick, tight set of prog-inflected rock that was always heavy, but far from brutal. Pulling from various sub-genres (doom, drone, sludge, southern rock), Royal Thunder’s brand of heavy blues rock recalls “metal” in its purest, most Sabbathesque sense. Entirely devoid of irony or a sense of jokiness, the trio was straightforward in a refreshing way. The guitar licks were sweet and technical, the drums were pounding and rollicking and singer/bassist Melany Parsonz raspy howls recalled Stevie Nicks after a long week of Pall Malls and rotgut.
Baroness began their set to a salvo of applause and a few shouts of “Welcome back,” opening with a one-two-three punch of “Take My Bones Away,” “March to the Sea” and “A Horse Called Golgotha.” Immediately showing itself as a reinvigorated unit, the band played with a zeal and vigor that was astounding to experience. Older, heavier songs received an anthemic treatment, becoming bigger and louder than on record, while newer, softer tracks felt instilled with a sense of significance and immediacy making it seem like they were being played live for the first time. The band bookended their set with the heaviest material, allocating most of the middle section of the hour-plus set to softer, more introspective tracks. Noodly, atmospheric intros to most songs eventually became bothersome and predictable and though the audience was engaged throughout, it did lessen the energy stirred up by the heavier material (quasi-ballad “Eula” was saccharine in its sentimentality). Gratefully, the “sweetheart’s portion of the evening,” as frontman John Baizley called it, was brought to an end with an encore of fan favorites (i.e. the heavy shit). Set highlight “The Sweetest Curse” actually caused a pit to form, as Baroness proved they can still slay if they want to.
Given the recent integration of two new band members, it was remarkable the chemistry and ease with which these four guys played, never missing a beat or fumbling through a cue. The rhythm section proved themselves a strong, albeit subdued, presence, especially new drummer Sebastian Thomson, whose fills and pounding rhythms dictated the pace of the set. Longtime Guitarist Pete Adams and founder/guitarist/vocalist John Baizley presented an interesting dichotomy: Adams spastically bounced around, interacting with the crowd, head banging and making no attempt to hide how much fun he was having, while Baizley stood mostly in place, stoic, looking straight ahead into the audience, screaming into the mic and occasionally raising his guitar above his head. Banter was kept to a minimum, save Baizley and Adam’s heartfelt thank you to the crowd near set’s end.
It’s an intense thing to experience genuine happiness and joy from musicians, to see smiles creep onto their faces mid-song, to feel gratitude radiated into the crowd and then reciprocated back onstage. Metal isn’t necessarily thought of as therapeutic, but it seemed that way for Baroness. It was easy to tell that these dudes were just happy to be alive and overjoyed to be back on stage. It’s damn good to have these guys back.
