a new record by baroness. "already a new one?", i asked myself. it felt like "purple" came out last year or so. when i checked back, i realised that said album was released four years ago in 2015. boy, time flies. ok, so a new baroness record isn't that strange after all and i pre-ordered a goddamn copy anyway. i took the easy way out and opted for the indie retailer version that was available from a domestic mailorder.
there are a bunch of nicer looking versions out there but the orange/blue edition seemed like a reasonable choice when i pre-ordered at emp mailorder. after the record was delivered and i unwrapped it for the first time, i was amazed by the whole set. again baroness put so much love into the packaging, alone the lovely booklet with additional art by marald van haasteren from the netherlands is worth the purchase.
musically "gold & grey" is the logical next step to its predecessors "yellow & green" and "purple". a lot of smooth arrangements drenched in progressive rock songs with little bursts of energy here and there. i do really like that and i do have no bad feelings about the sound production here like so many others seem to experience. strong output which comes in a gatefold sleeve, printed dust sleeves, booklet, d-side etching and clear red-orange/clear sea blue vinyl. abraxan hymns records. 2019.