A GREY SIGH IN A FLOWER HUSK

"A Grey Sigh In A Flower Husk" is a split release by US sludge metal acts Baroness and Unpersons. The split was released through At a Loss Recordings in June 2007. All tracks are exclusively featured on this release. Baroness is probably a pretty known name in rock/metal circles today while Unpersons are probably a bit less known to most people.

There are 6 tracks on the split. The first two are Baroness tracks and the last four are Unpersons tracks. The split opens with "Teiresias" which is a strong track by Baroness. Certainly their strongest track released up until then (this split was released before the debut album "Red Album (2008)"). "Teiresias" is very much in the vein of how Mastodon sounds and some people might feel that this is too much of a ripp-off. "Cavite" is slower and more post metal like and actually sounds like something Isis could have done for their "Oceanic (2002)" album. At 12:11 minutes it´s the longest track on the split but it´s a strong track and the long playing time is warranted. Both Baroness tracks live up to my expectations and even though I still feel that they struggled to find a personal style at this point. Their music is so strong that my issues with their lack of an original sound are generally minor.

Unpersons music was completely unknown to me before listening to "A Grey Sigh In A Flower Husk" but what a positive surprise I´ve been given. Their music has some of the same elements as the music of Baroness but ultimately comes off very different. While Baroness vocals are raw and shouting, which is pretty typical for the genre, the vocals by the lead singer in Unpersons are completely insane. Imagine a schizophrenic lunatic fixated by a straitjacket in a rubber cell late at night at the institution for the criminally insane shouting, spitting and talking to himself. A suiting description for the vocals on these four tracks. I love it but I can imagine that this is an aquired taste. The music is very interesting too. Raw, sludgy, and rather simple metal/hardcore but adventurous enough to never become just raw aggression.

Both bands are well playing and the musicianship are generally of high quality. The Baroness tracks are well produced and the same can be said about the Unpersons tracks even though the quality of the sound production is not as high as on the Baroness tracks. All in all "A Grey Sigh In A Flower Husk" is a high quality release where the material by the two artists compliment each other well, which ultimately provide the listener with an enjoyable and well flowing listening experience. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

This is an early (in the terms of the bands involved) split album that was released to try to bring some attention to what were both sludgy sounding bands. All the tracks on this album were exclusive to this release, and for fans of Baroness and /or Unpersons, this is a big plus. Being a Baroness fan myself, I am mostly interested in their tracks, which are both quite stellar on this album, even though these are early tracks and it shows the band searching for their own sound.

It begins with Baroness featuring two songs, one of them a medium length song called "Teiresias" (over 6 minutes), which proves that the band was trying to find a niche with Mastodon fans. It's a heavy song, much heavier than the albums that would follow, with a lot more yelling/singing than what the average Baroness listener might be used to. It is also quite progressive and one that will appeal to the progressive metal listener. The 2nd track, though, is the real epic masterwork from the band and the one worth the price of admission. "Cavite" is a 12 minute monster which, except for the heavier vocals, points the direction that the band was to take for both the "Red" and "Blue" albums to follow. It is very dynamic and progressive, changing heaviness, meter, and style throughout, yet remaining heavy and also stepping out of the sludgier aspects of metal. This is one that will appeal to Isis fans.

The 2nd part of the album belongs to the more unfamiliar band "Unpersons". They have four tracks, 3 of which are around 3 minutes and the last one which stretches past 6 minutes. Their music is definitely more unhinged, with wild and wacky vocals, yet keeping a changing sludgy atmosphere, yet not really bogging things down much. It's the right amount of their insanity as much more might get to be a bit too much. However, with about the same amount of time total as the 2 Baroness tracks, it's the right amount. Most proggers might find this part of the album a bit too wild for their taste, but progressive metal lovers will also enjoy this, even with the insane sounding vocals. The last track has the trickiest aspects with meters and riffs going off everywhere, and it is fortunately their longest, which, on the 2nd half, goes off into some more experimental, noise rock territory.

Typically, I usually skip the Unpersons tracks, but when I'm in the right mood, they are quite enjoyable anyway, but their not as good as the Baroness tracks. Their tracks are a solid 4 star attempt, where Unperson's tracks tend to hand around the 3 star range with the last one of the bunch the best of them. This is a great EP/Split album for progressive metal heads, especially those that love their heaviness thick, sludgy and dirty. However, this will appeal to fans more than anyone. '