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Purple
Studio album by Baroness
Released	December 18, 2015
Recorded	March–May 2015
Studio	Tarbox Road Cassadaga, New York
Genre	Progressive metal sludge metal hard rock alternative rock
Length	42:33
Label	Abraxan Hymns
Producer	Baroness Dave Fridmann
Baroness chronology
Live at Maida Vale (2013) Purple (2015) Gold & Grey (2019)
Singles from Purple
"Chlorine & Wine" Released: August 28, 2015 "Shock Me" Released: November 15, 2015 "Try to Disappear" Released: December 12, 2017 "Morningstar" Released: December 12, 2017

Purple is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Baroness. It was released in 2015 through the band's record label, Abraxan Hymns.

Background

Baroness began writing Purple in early 2014. The album was recorded and mixed by producer Dave Fridmann from March until May of 2015 at Tarbox Road Studio in Cassadaga, New York. Purple is the first album from Baroness following their 2012 bus accident and the first to feature members Sebastian Thomson and Nick Jost. It is the last album to feature Pete Adams, who left the band in 2017.

Release

Purple was released on December 18, 2015, through the band's newly founded record label, Abraxan Hymns. It is available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape, and as a music download. The cassette copies were a limited edition given away for free with the purchase of CD and LP editions of the album at participating stores.

Four singles were released from Purple as part of a series of 12" vinyl picture discs featuring illustrations by artist Marald Van Haasteren. The album's lead single, "Chlorine & Wine," was released on August 28, 2015. The second single, "Shock Me," was released on November 15 and later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The last two singles were released in December 2017, and each feature a B-side: "Try to Disappear" includes a live performance of the song that was recorded in 2016 at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, while "Morningstar" includes a demo version of the track.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	85/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B
Drowned in Sound	8/10
Exclaim!	9/10
The Guardian
Metal Hammer
Pitchfork	8.5/10
PopMatters
Rolling Stone Australia
Spin	8/10

Purple was met with critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic (a review aggregator site which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from music critics), based on 19 critics, the album received a score of 85/100, which indicates "universal acclaim".

In Dom Lawson's review of the album for The Guardian, he described the album as a "far more focused and fiery beast; both a return to the stormy riffing and skewed melodies of old and a subtle but unmistakable lunge for mainstream glory. It's a balance they pull off brilliantly." Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy was likewise praising of the album, writing that "These are some of the biggest, strongest songs that Baroness has written; it's rock music that folds in their more metal leanings, along with something more delicate and spare. The hooks and melodies are their best." Addison Herron-Wheeler of Exclaim! said that "Purple has just as much energy and power as the group's older works, but with a more refined and mature sound." She delcared the album a "must-hear," saying "Baroness are back, and they sound as good as ever."

Thom Jurek of AllMusic said, "Though not as 'experimental' as their previous couple of records, as a whole Purple is far more focused, and it's certainly more euphoric. Surviving a close brush with death resulted in a celebratory affirmation of life that equates physical bombast and rockist swagger with woozy, dreamy, rainbow-streaked beauty." In a review for Spin, Dan Weiss wrote "Whether the devastation of the accident has imbued Baizley with new life, or his dual successes in the arts are just making him a fuller person, somehow Purple is still heavier than Yellow & Green despite being a leaner machine" In Mike Diver's review of Purple for Drowned in Sound, he referred to the album as a "quite wonderful record," "a certifiable triumph," and "a beyond-commendable comeback."

Commercial performance

Purple debuted at No. 70 on the Billboard 200 with nearly 17,500 sales in its first week. It peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart and topped the Independent Albums chart. The album's second single, "Shock Me," reached number 28 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by John Dyer Baizley; all music is composed by Baroness

Personnel

Charts

Accolades

Best-of lists

Grammy Awards

Kerrang! Awards

Loudwire Music Awards

Metal Storm Awards

References

1. ^ "News". davefridmann.com. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
2. ^ Keith Rodrigues (4 February 2016). "ALBUM REVIEW: Baroness - Purple". Bandwagon Asia. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
3. Jon Blistein (28 August 2015). "Baroness Prep 'Purple' LP, Pour Powerful New Song 'Chlorine and Wine'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 Sep 2015.
4. ^ Michael Nelson (28 Aug 2015). "Baroness – "Chlorine & Wine" + Purple Album Details". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 Sep 2015.
5. ^ Peter Helman (15 Nov 2015). "Baroness – "Shock Me"". Stereogum. Retrieved 16 Nov 2015.
6. ^ "BARONESS To Release Final Two Picture Discs In 'Purple' Series". blabbermouth.net. 20 Nov 2017. Retrieved 1 Sep 2024.
7. Baroness (October 8, 2015). "BARONESS - Twelve Months In A Basement [Making Purple]". YouTube. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
8. "BARONESS' PETE ADAMS SAYS GOODBYE, BAND INTRODUCES NEW GUITAR PLAYER GINA GLEASON". yourbaroness.com. June 1, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
9. "'PURPLE' IS OUT TODAY". yourbaroness.com. December 18, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
10. ^ "BARONESS RELEASE FINAL TWO PICTURE DISCS IN PURPLE SERIES". indiepulsemusic.com. November 21, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
11. ^ "59th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees". grammy.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
12. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
13. ^ Jurek, Thom. "AllMusic Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
14. Warwick, Kevin (December 18, 2015). "Baroness' Purple is a triumphant epilogue to disaster". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
15. ^ Diver, Mike (December 21, 2015). "Drowned in Sound Review". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
16. ^ Herron-Wheeler, Addison (December 16, 2015). "Baroness - Purple". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
17. ^ Lawson, Dom (December 3, 2015). "Baroness: Purple review – metallers lunge for mainstream glory". The Guardian. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
18. Alderslade, Merlin (December 8, 2015). "Baroness: Purple". Metal Hammer. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
19. ^ Brandon Stosuy (December 10, 2015). "Baroness - Purple". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
20. Whitelock, Ed (January 5, 2016). "Baroness Purple". PopMatters. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
21. Doreian, Robyn (December 9, 2015). "Baroness Purple". Rolling Stone Australia. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
22. ^ Weiss, Dan (December 14, 2015). "Review: Baroness Rebound From Tragedy With a 'Purple' Haze". Spin. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
23. "News". lambgoat.com. June 27, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
24. "Baroness Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
25. "Baroness Shock Me Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
26. Ryan, Gavin (December 26, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Adele '25' No 1 for Fifth Week". Noise11. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
27. "Baroness Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
28. "Ultratop.be – Baroness – Purple" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
29. "Dutchcharts.nl – Baroness – Purple" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
30. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
31. "Norwegiancharts.com – Baroness – Purple". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
32. "Swisscharts.com – Baroness – Purple". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
33. "Baroness Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
34. "Baroness Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
35. "Baroness (Indie Store Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
36. "Baroness Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
37. "Baroness Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
38. "Baroness Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
39. "Baroness Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
40. Roche, Jason (December 8, 2015). "The 10 Best Heavy Metal Albums of 2015". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
41. Staff (December 9, 2015). "20 Best Rock Albums of 2015". Loudwire. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
42. Rose, Rustyn (December 31, 2015). "Metalholic's 50 Best Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 2015". Metalholic. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
43. Ringo, Brandon (January 7, 2016). "Top 50 Metal & Rock Albums of 2015". New Noise. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
44. Stosuy, Brandon (December 21, 2015). "The Best Metal Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
45. "Albums Of The Year 2015 by Rock Sound (2015)". besteveralbums.com. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
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47. "Kerrang! Awards Details Unveiled". Kerrang!. April 5, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
48. Chad Childers (January 10, 2017). "6TH ANNUAL LOUDWIRE MUSIC AWARDS: COMPLETE WINNERS LIST". Loudwire. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
49. ^ "Metal Storm Awards 2015". Metal Storm. 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2024.

• Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2016). "Top 50 Releases of the Year". Rock Sound (208). London: Freeway Press Inc. ISSN 1465-0185.

External links

• Purple at Bandcamp (streamed copy where licensed)
• Purple at Discogs (list of releases)

• 2015 albums
• Baroness (band) albums
• Albums produced by Dave Fridmann
• Albums recorded at Tarbox Road Studios