Baroness: 18.Nov.09 - Washington DC

On Wednesday night, Savannah, Georgia metal act Baroness kicked off its fall tour at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington D.C.  Living up to their reputation for outstanding live shows, the four-piece brought to the stage nearly every quality that makes Blue Record one of the year’s best metal albums: bone-crunching riffs, anthemic vocals, hushed interludes, driving rhythms, and guitar acrobatics galore.  But it was the band’s delivery and onstage chemistry, rather than their technical skill, that won over the packed room.  Finger-pulls and pinch harmonics usually seem like hard work, but that wasn’t the case with Baroness.  For such serious musicians, it looked like they were having a lot of fun. 

—Mehan Jayasuriya