Composer Reacts to BARONESS - If I Have To Wake Up (Would You Stop The Rain?) (REACTION & ANALYSIS)

[@Therealchrist]

Baroness are so bloody good. Everything on the Purple album is fantastic.

[@minhuang8848]

word

[@izzy3851]

17:01 That's the thing with bands like this, Baroness. Each album is it's own body of work, related to band members' current lives, emotions, and hopes. There are not many bands like these because these albums have a lot of soul in them, for though the artist may have a "sound" or "personality" that allows the listener to pick them out from a crowd, they do not follow a cut-and-dry formula. Because of that, you get "If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain?)." Which rightly fits into the atmosphere surrounding its album 'Purple,' but starkly contrasts their earlier albums, in multiple way unique to those albums themselves. Yes to answer, your question about whether Baroness harmonizes throughout their music, and it's done in a stylized, less intricate way than most modern metal bands. My favorite song from Baroness is "Kerosene." A lot heavier and faster, and showcases their harmonies. Vulnerable song: Japanese Breakfast's "Till Death"

[@casey4452]

Saw them live recently and Baroness are definitely masters of their craft. I think you would really like their Purple or gold & grey albums. My favorite is their Red and Blue album but they have definitely expanded their sound in their newer albums.

[@jonathanaustin6807]

Amazing band. Two songs I know and love today, what are the odds!

[@powdanjr]

It wont get you views but any song by Baroness is a good listen. Insanely good modern rock. Their music changed a lot after a really bad bus crash in Europe, it was much heavier before.

[@CriticalReactions]

There are certainly days when I'd think "I wish I could get the views/sub numbers of those bigger channels" but honestly I love exploring lesser known and niche music/bands and I think most of y'all explore that aspect of the channel as well. So I'll keep doing it :)

[@jbasti227]

Baroness is such a special band. Chlorine and Wine is another great song by them I’d recommend checking out for this week’s theme. Wings For Marie by Tool is another I think you’d also really appreciate for the vulnerable theme.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

What you say about this not being what you expected for the week was my own reaction when I saw the nominees on the Patreon list and mentioned that I felt people were shoehorning their favorite bands in. Another poster mentioned that they thought the theme was meant to be the "vulnerable" side of heavier bands, while I you had in mind bands/artists where "vulnerability" was more typical of their style, and I guess I had in mind the same thing. This might be another week (like jazz fusion) that we'll need to revisit if only to give a chance to some artists that are more representative of the category.

[@CriticalReactions]

Having recorded reactions to 3 songs this week as of now, I'm certainly underwhelmed but am going into the reactions figuring it's softer songs by heavier bands. I just gotta rename the theme and be more specific about what I'm looking for.

[@ThathousecatSHC]

This version gives me Goosebumps everytime I hear it.

[@ProgPro96]

The drumming and harmonized vocals are typical for Baroness, the rest of the song isn't. They do have a range of slower emotional tracks like this one but they're mostly known for playing heavier, fast paced sludge metal.

[@minhuang8848]

Drums - pre-Thomson and after - are just insane. I mean, so are the lyrics, the vocals or the absolutely bonkers dual guitar solos, but yeah, the drums, my God. I get stuck on that stuff.

[@Wild_Open]

Great song, but I think reacting to studio versions of Baroness songs would be much more interesting. The production jobs tend to be a big part of their sound with lots of different synths and layers.

[@SeanD313]

True, the synths and layering do add a lot. Though some of their mixing & engineering choices are, um... controversial. LOL Perhaps that's part of what would make reacting to studio versions interesting, though?!

[@kevinwillems8720]

This is the one song on Purple that I don't think the production works for. Like this needs to be subtle, the ghost notes in the snare, the little vocal details.

[@ambassadortourettes753]

Never heard a song by Baroness that didn't deliver 👌 Absolutely killer live as well... Could listen to them all day 🤘 Always get your fill of ranges of textured emotions and a cacophony of shades of melancholy and woebegone... ✍️

[@progperljungman8218]

I think they ticked all the boxes from your introduction 😊 (then what you expected that to be is a different thing 😉)

[@CriticalReactions]

That's true. And of course, pensive/thoughtful are subjective words and maybe even not quite the right words I should be using to describe my expectation.

[@progperljungman8218]

@@CriticalReactions You can just regard this an exploration of what others might tie to that explanation 🙂

[@wolverine669]

If I may recommend bands like Hills Like White Lions - "Flower Garden" and Villagers Of Ioannina City - "Age Of Aquarius" I know you'll like these, so please check them out

[@sludgeon]

ah, dat half time shuffle 😊

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

This is a nice track but pretty atypical for Baroness, who are more typically a kind of sludge/stoner (and occasionally proggy) rock/metal band, perhaps most similar to a band like Mastodon. They're one of those bands that have a consistently solid discography but don't have any albums I'd put into the "masterpiece" category, with my favorites being their first (Red) album and their Purple album, which this track is from. Similar to Mastodon they have branched out more musically as they've gone along, trying their hand at more radio-friendly rock in contrast to their earlier, heavier, rawer albums. If you want a sampling of their more typical style, Isak is a great track from their first album.

[@powdanjr]

IMO Red Album is a masterpiece and Yellow/Green is damn close.

[@jr34v3r]

Baroness is a band i like, but they're soooooo boring outside the first 3 albums. Just very mediocre playing, which is sad because theyre all great musicians. Honestly John Baizley should just become a painter full-time, he's so talented at it