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.