Dormition's Journal

Dormition's Journal
November 23, 2009

This past Friday, my girlfriend Melissa and I ventured into the city that never sleeps to catch a show, and not just any show, but a Baroness show. For those of you unfamiliar with Baroness, they formed in Savannah, GA in 2003 with all members, past and present, hailing from Lexington, VA in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Their music can best be described as progressive sludge metal, with a majestic/southern melody to their sound. Hard hitting and aggressive in both their sound and lyrics, they are a band not to be missed. When we arrived in the city and made our way to the Bowery Ballroom, we missed the opening band US Christmas, but arrived just as Earthless was hitting the stage. This was the first time not only hearing about these guys, but also seeing them. They are a 3 piece instrumental band from San Diego, California and their sound is just devastating. Similar to Baroness with their progressive sound, they are also very out there in their sound and performance. The guitarist is in his own world just whaling on riff after riff, while the drummer is just unleashing rage upon his drums. The highlight of their set was just how many endings they had in one song, it just kept going. I thought it was great, Melissa however, was getting anxiety.

Now that Earthless was finished, all that was left, was for Baroness to take the stage. And they did, at around 11:45pm... They opened with their first track "Bullhead’s Psalm" off their new album "Blue Record", which is an instrumental and from there on, it was pure bliss. They went from one song to the next with no breaks, which doesn't bother me at all. Their whole performance was just amazing, and the fact that we were very close to the stage made it all the more better. They have such an intensity about them, that it has to be seen in person and not heard about (go figure). At around 1am, we were pretty exhausted and it was time to make our way back home, and nothing finishes up a night like getting a parking ticket. All in all, it was a fun night and I look forward to the next show on my calendar.

Red Album	Blue Record

Until next time...