Welcome back, everyone. Hope everyone made it through the weekend okay.

For this week’s edition of The Horns Up Top 10, I’m going to take a look back at Baroness. I’ll admit, I was a bit late to the party listening to the Savannah sludge quartet. It wasn’t until 2012’s Yellow and Green double album that I really got into them, and then…go figure…this happened. Over the coming months, I immersed myself in their back catalog, and eventually wound up seeing them in New York a year (almost to the day) after the accident. They’re one of those bands I try never to go too long without listening to, as no matter which style you catch them with—be it their early, aggressive sludge sounds or their later, more introspective material—they’ll find a way to kick your ass.

So with that in mind, let’s get into this Top 10, shall we?

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“Green Theme” (from Yellow and Green, 2012)

The eponymous opener to the second half of Yellow and Green, “Green Theme” is one of the most gorgeous and triumphant metal songs you’ll ever hear. Beneath the fuzz and distortion lie some truly majestic melodies, and the song’s rise-fall structure ensures for maximum catharsis during its dizzying highs. When I rule the world, sporting champions will collect their medals to this song. Every champion. Every sport.

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“Swollen and Halo” (from Blue Record, 2009)

This thing’s one of Blue Record‘s most popular rockers for a reason. The tremolo effect throughout “Swollen and Halo’s” main riff almost gives off a feeling of being underwater, while the guitar lick that forms its kind-of refrain creates an awesome, ascending-and-descending harmony. In between? The kind of balls to the wall aggression that we’ve always loved from Baroness. Tremendous tune.

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“Take My Bones Away” (from Yellow and Green, 2012)

Okay, yes, I know “Yellow Theme” is TECHNICALLY the opener, but let’s be real, the spiritual start to Yellow and Green comes on “Take My Bones Away.” A steady crusher from its opening notes, the song’s also incredibly catchy, and simply dares you not to sing along during its chorus. But for me, the real highlight’s always been the instrumental break at around 2:53, where the rumbling low-end picks up and kicks the song into a storm of fuzz-filled overdrive.

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“Isak” (from Red Album, 2007)

If you’re only going to play one song from Red Album—as Baroness did when I saw them at Irving Plaza in August 2013—“Isak” is an excellent choice of representation. With its sharp, articulate production, a swaggering opening riff that many sludge contemporaries would’ve killed for, and some of John Dyer Baizley’s hardest hitting roars on record, the song’s a true highlight of Baroness’s early career.

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“A Horse Called Golgotha” (from Blue Record, 2009)

Easily the catchiest song on Blue Record, “A Horse Called Golgotha” is another one of those songs you’ll find impossible not to sing along with—particularly with its infectious, call-and-response-style chorus. But when you factor in the frenetic guitar work Baizley and Pete Adams unleash throughout (including the excellent, solo-laden bridge section), you start to realize—this thing might also be the most chaotic thing on the album, too. Or of their entire career.

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“Psalms Alive” (from Yellow and Green, 2012)

 Remember when I said that Yellow and Green was the album that sold me on Baroness? Well, “Psalms Alive” was the song that sold me on Yellow and Green. In an album full of departures for Baroness, this one stands as the most significant for me. From the very first, very dim echoes in its opening, this thing is just goddamn breathtaking, and when the earnest stunner of a B-section, (the “heavy part;” I don’t know if you could really call it a chorus) comes in, you’ll feel like you can take on the entire world. Just fantastic.

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“Stretchmarker” (from Yellow and Green, 2012)

Another one to file in the “departures” category. “Stretchmarker” is a pretty, understated little tune that’s the perfect comedown after the burst of energy that is “Psalms Alive.” (It actually immediately follows “Psalms” on the album, as well.) An excellent example of a band taking a relatively simple lick or progression—in this case, the descending run of chords—and building something really special, and really achingly pretty, out of it.

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“Teeth of a Cogwheel” (from Red Album, 2007)

This one’s oft-forgotten in the broader context of Red Album, but it’s such a little gem. “Teeth of a Cogwheel” may only be two-and-a-quarter minutes long, but it really packs a punch. That harmonized, start-stop guitar line? The complex rhythmic patterns it brings into the mix? There’s a lot going for this thing, and it all comes together perfectly. A terrific little instrumental.

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“Jake Leg” (from Blue Record, 2009)

Try not getting pumped up while listening to “Jake Leg.” You can’t. You’ll find yourself stomping along to the opening kick-drum rhythm, playing air guitar along with the intro lines, or singing along with Baizley’s roar when he enters. Or, more commonly, you’ll just find yourself breaking into the same frenzy the song does throughout. Four-and-a-half minutes of chaos and abandon.

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“Rays on Pinion” (from Red Album, 2007)

Good god, what a way to kick off an album. At seven-and-a-half minutes in length, “Rays on Pinion” is a slow-burn—which isn’t always something you see from album openers. It’s very deliberate, and it takes its time wrapping you up in clean, melodic guitar patterns before introducing its heavy side about halfway through. It’s a kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde effect; we go from clean and bluesy to gnarly and distorted, and it’s captivating all the while. While I don’t regret the path I took developing my taste for Baroness, I envy those who discovered them through Red Album, and had this thing as their introduction. It’s quite a damn thing.

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The Horns Up Top 10 on Spotify

That’ll do it. Check back later today for album reviews and more!

Keep it heavy,

-Dan

Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.