BARONESS, which recently announced the September 15 release of “Stone”, has debuted a second track from the eagerly awaited collection, sharing “Beneath The Rose” and its accompanying video.
“It feels great to be releasing music again,” John Baizley shares. “Especially a song like ‘Beneath The Rose’, which we began writing during the ‘Gold & Grey’ sessions almost six years ago. During those sessions, the song never quite took off but once we began writing ‘Stone’, one of the first things I did was pull that main guitar riff out of retirement to see if we could breathe new life into the bones of this song. Paired with ‘Last Word’, ‘Beneath The Rose’ became a microcosmic expression of ‘Stone’, a kind of mission statement that hints at the wide musical territory we cover throughout the rest of the album. It’s also part one of a trilogy of songs that also includes ‘Choir’ and ‘The Dirge’.”
Continuing the DIY ethos that infuses the forthcoming album, the video for “Beneath The Rose” was self-directed by the band, with editing handled by John Baizley and Nick Jost. Similarly, “Last Word”, the first single released from “Stone”, features a Nick Jost-created clip.
“Much the same as we decided to create and produce ‘Stone’ ourselves, we’ve adopted a similar DIY attitude regarding our videos,” adds Baizley. “This is the second installment in a video series that we’re creating: shooting, directing and editing ourselves. It’s been an exciting and creative process utilizing elements of photography, stop-motion, animation and traditional video. We’re curious to see how far we can go with this ‘Stone’ video project series, relying heavily on found objects, local environments and our admittedly limited lighting, video and photo equipment. Like all BARONESS projects, it feels great to further expand our creative vision and capabilities.”
Early reaction to “Stone” has praised the band’s ongoing expansion and exploration. Brooklyn Vegan said “BARONESS are at their most alive and direct,” Guitar World dubbed the new music as “soaring,” Stereogum said it “rocks on a primal and instinctive level,” Revolver said “Last Word” “finds the group in scintillating form,” and Consequence proclaimed the track as a “creative leap.”
“Stone” features original cover art by Baizley and is available on a variety of formats, including an indie exclusive LP and ten limited-edition custom vinyl variants themed after each song on the album and designed by Baizley himself, as well as CD, a limited-edition deluxe CD featuring a bonus disc of live tracks recorded on the “Your Baroness” tour, and a limited blue cassette.
“Stone” track listing:
01. Embers
02. Last Word
03. Beneath The Rose
04. Choir
05. The Dirge
06. Anodyne
07. Shine
08. Magnolia
09. Under The Wheel
10. Bloom
BARONESS recently announced the “Sweet Oblivion” tour, a seven-week trek that sees the band traversing North America this fall. Tickets are on sale now via yourbaroness.com, with BARONESS bringing along some of their favorite bands, including JESUS PIECE, PORTRAYAL OF GUILT, PRIMITIVE MAN, KEN MODE, WAYFARER, CHAT PILE, VILE CREATURE, SOUL GLO, SHEER MAG, ESCUELA GRIND, MIDWIFE, HOAXED, CLOUD RAT, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT, UNIFORM and AGRICULTURE, with more support acts to be announced.
Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz