Purple

Despite three years and a nearly life-ending bus accident separating Purple from 2012’s Yellow & Green, the resilient Baroness pick up where they left off. The album is an expression of their ever-deepening genius for folding metal and hard rock into delicately layered songcraft. “Morningstar” and “Shock Me” are rousing statements built from pleading howls, chugging beats, and serpentine guitars that consume their own tails. The influence of veteran avant-rock producer Dave Fridmann can be heard in the atmospheric keyboards that shade numerous cuts, including the heroically galloping “Chlorine & Wine.”