This interview is available in full as an episode of the Consequence UNCUT podcast. Listen below.
Baroness singer-guitarist John Baizley recently shared his “Crate Digging” list of 10 Essential 1990s Metal Albums exclusively with Heavy Consequence, but there was actually a lot more to our conversation with the metal frontman — as heard in the full Consequence Uncut podcast episode above.
When we caught up with Baizley to go over his choices, he also discussed the band’s latest album, Stone, including the recording process and specifically the tracks “Beneath the Rose” and “Shine” (one of our 30 Best Metal & Hard Rock Songs of 2023). Additionally, he talked about Baroness’ Fall 2023 headlining tour, which featured an eclectic mix of notable support acts.
After writing much of the music during the pandemic and sharing files with one another, the band members rented out an Airbnb in a remote area of Pennsylvania to properly work on the album that would come to be known as Stone.
“We’re outside a little area called Barryville, which is like a two-stoplight town on the border of Pennsylvania and New York with no real businesses to speak of and none of which we ever visited anyhow,” Baizley told us. “So we spent a month in a cabin and … spent about 36 hours building a studio from scratch, that we’d never done before. And then we spent a month rehearsing and jamming, 12 hours a day of just playing music.”
In December, Baroness wrapped up a North American tour that included rotating support from such acts as Jesus Piece, Portrayal of Guilt, Primitive Man, Soul Glo, KEN Mode, Wayfarer, Chat Pile, Spotlights, Uniform, and more.
“What we’ve done throughout our history is to really demystify the idea of the music scene as a scene that has rules,” Baizley told us of the wide-ranging opening acts on the tour. “I think that there’s a great amount of synchronicity between many different corners of DIY and underground music. …. In the ’80s and ’90s, you didn’t mix your punk with your metal, but I think these days those lines have been ground away. … What I’ve always been interested in doing is touring with bands that I like.”
The Consequence Uncut episode above offers more insight into Baizley’s musical tastes, including how he came up with the aforementioned list of essential ’90s metal albums, during which he admits he started out as more of a punk fan.
Catch Baroness at the upcoming Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple festivals in May. And if you haven’t already, pick up a copy of Stone here.
Listen to the Consequence Uncut episode featuring John Baizley above.
