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Blue Record

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For the Unknown Mortal Orchestra EP, see Blue Record (EP).

Blue Record
Studio album by
Baroness
ReleasedOctober 13, 2009
RecordedMay–June 2009
StudioThe Track Studio
Plano, Texas
Elmwood Studio
Dallas, Texas
Genre
Length44:30
LabelRelapse
ProducerJohn Congleton
Baroness chronology
Red Album
(2007) 		Blue Record
(2009) 		Yellow & Green
(2012)
Singles from Blue Record
  1. "A Horse Called Golgotha"
    Released: August 31, 2010[1]

Blue Record is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Baroness. It was released in 2009 by Relapse Records.

Background

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Baroness began writing Blue Record in 2007.[2] The album was recorded in May and June of 2009 at The Track Studio in Plano, Texas, and Elmwood Studio in Dallas, Texas.[3] It is the first Baroness album to feature guitarist Pete Adams and the first to be produced by John Congleton. It is the band's final studio recording to feature bassist Summer Welch before his departure in 2011.

Release

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Blue Record was released on October 13, 2009 by Relapse Records.[4] It is available on CD, on vinyl, and as a music download. The Japanese edition features a cover version of the Descendents song "Bikeage", which was recorded during same studio sessions as the album. A deluxe edition was also released, and it includes a bonus disc with live audio from Baroness' performance at the 2009 Roadburn Festival.[5]

On November 7, 2009, Baroness premiered a music video for the song "A Horse Called Golgotha".[6] On August 31, 2010, Relapse released "A Horse Called Golgotha" as a 7" single. The single includes the Japanese bonus track "Bikeage" as a B-side.[1] The song "Swollen and Halo" was included as part of the soundtrack to the 2010 video game MLB 10: The Show.[7]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
BBC(favorable)[9]
Imperiumi[10]
Pitchfork Media(8.5/10)[11]
PopMatters(8/10)[12]
Rock Sound(9/10)[13]
Scene Point Blank[14]

Blue Record was very well received by music critics. At Metacritic (a review aggregator site which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from music critics), based on 8 critics, the album received a score of 87/100, which indicates "universal acclaim."

Phil Freeman of AllMusic gave the album a perfect five-star rating, saying, "Baroness has made a subtle but unmistakable evolutionary leap on [Blue Record], their second full-length and a clear companion piece to 2007's Red Album." He called Blue Record "a ferocious album that's not afraid to be genuinely beautiful."[3] In a review for Rock Sound, Kevin Stuart-Panko wrote that "[Baroness'] range of dynamics has grown immensely," and "everything about ‘Blue Album’ sound larger-than-life." He rated the album 9/10.[13] In Grayson Haver Currin's review for Pitchfork, he gave the album an 8.5/10 rating, and stated, "Every song bleeds into the other, and its flow is impeccable... Blue Record never feels overthought or overworked." He concluded by saying, "Complex enough to reward repetitive listening and compact enough to encourage it, Blue Record is one of the year's most generous hours."[11] Cory S. of Scene Point Blank gave the album a rating of 8.4/10, calling it "more experimental, creative, and outgoing" than Red Album. He said that "Baroness have again created something great and unique with Blue Record and it's one of the strongest releases to come out of this year."[14]

Accolades

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Decibel magazine named Blue Record the top album of 2009.[15] It was named "Best Sludge / Stoner Metal Album" at the 2009 Metal Storm Awards.[16] In 2013, Blue Record was named the 20th Greatest Metal Album in History by LA Weekly.[17]

Commercial performance

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Blue Record was Baroness' first release to appear on music charts.[18] The album debuted at number 117 on the Billboard 200, selling 4,700 copies in its first week, which was the most of any metal release.[19] It spent twelve weeks on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, where it debuted in the top position.[20] It also appeared on Billboard's Tastemaker Albums, Independent Albums, and Top Hard Rock Albums charts.

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by John Dyer Baizley; all music is composed by Baroness

Blue Record track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Bullhead's Psalm"1:20
2."The Sweetest Curse"4:31
3."Jake Leg"4:23
4."Steel That Sleeps the Eye"2:38
5."Swollen and Halo"6:35
6."Ogeechee Hymnal"2:36
7."A Horse Called Golgotha"5:21
8."O'er Hell and Hide"4:22
9."War, Wisdom and Rhyme"4:26
10."Blackpowder Orchard"1:00
11."The Gnashing"4:18
12."Bullhead's Lament"3:00
Total length:44:30
Japanese Edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Bikeage" (Descendents cover)2:19
Deluxe Edition bonus tracks (Live at Roadburn Festival 2009)
No.TitleLength
1."The Birthing" (Live)8:56
2."Isak" (Live)4:22
3."Rays on Pinion" (Live)8:34
4."Wanderlust" (Live)5:14
5."Grad" (Live)7:22

Note: "The Birthing" (Live) includes a rendition of the Jimi Hendrix song "Machine Gun"

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[21] 117
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[20] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[22] 14
US Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[23] 12
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 15

References

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  1. ^ a b Gabe Vodicka (August 31, 2010). "Baroness cover the Descendents on 'Golgotha' 7-inch". creativeloafing.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "Interview With John Baizley Of Baroness". November 27, 2007. Archived from the original on December 7, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Freeman, Phil (October 13, 2009). "Blue Record - Baroness". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "New Release: Baroness: Blue Record". Pitchfork. September 11, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "'Blue Record' Streaming Online". October 6, 2009. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  6. ^ "Baroness has premiered their new video for "A Horse Called Golgotha."". lambgoat.com. November 7, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  7. ^ "MLB 10: The Show Soundtrack". blog.playstation.com. January 26, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "Blue Record by Baroness". Metacritic. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  9. ^ Gardner, Noel (October 19, 2009). "Music - Review of Baroness - Blue Record". BBC. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  10. ^ Jukka Kolehmainen (January 16, 2010). "Levyarviot: Baroness - Blue Record". Imperiumi. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Currin, Grayson (November 3, 2009). "Baroness: Blue Record | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  12. ^ Begrand, Adrien (November 3, 2009). "Baroness: Blue Record". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Stewart-Panko, Kevin (October 14, 2009). "Baroness - Blue Album | Reviews | Rock Sound". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  14. ^ a b Cory S. (November 16, 2009). "Review Baroness Blue Record". Scene Point Blank. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "Decibel's Top 40 Albums of 2009". Stereogum. November 24, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  16. ^ "The Metal Storm Awards 2009". Metal Storm. 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  17. ^ "The 20 Greatest Metal Albums in History: The Complete List". Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  18. ^ "Baroness Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  19. ^ Bram Teitelman (October 21, 2009). "Metal By Numbers 10/21 – Baroness Has A New Record". metalinsider.net. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Baroness Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  21. ^ "Baroness Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  22. ^ "Baroness Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  23. ^ "Baroness (Indie Store Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  24. ^ "Baroness Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
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