YELLOW & GREEN

Baroness is a spacey, hard-edged metal act, who will invite obvious comparisons to Mastodon. A fair assessment, especially on Yellow & Green, a double album that really feels more like two albums in one.

The first half, Yellow, is a dark and gloomy affair. The heavy keyboard ambiance and the echo on the vocals contrasted with the crushing drums and screaming riffs, create a desolate effect that puts the listener in a distant place. "Eula" refines this formula, jumping from atmospheric to aggressive.

On Green, the ambiance is lessened, and the songs are much more forceful in their delivery. "Board Up the House", "Psalms Alive" and "The Line Between" have an unexpectedly amiable approach. Where Yellow brings you down, Green will pull you back up. There is a lot going on in Yellow & Green that you may not pick up from the first listen.

At less than 80 minutes, it's not long for a double album, but you can see why Yellow & Green were separated from each other. Each one has its own distinct sound, yet they somehow connect to balance out.