Baroness Announce New Album, ‘Purple’ + Debut the Epic ‘Chlorine & Wine’

Baroness have announced they will return with a new album, Purple, before the year is out. Today (Aug. 28), the alt-metal outfit has shared the nearly seven-minute cut, “Chlorine & Wine” -- take a listen in the video above.

This marks Baroness’ first new outing since their 2012 double album, Yellow & Green, and a bus accident that took place shortly thereafter, leaving nine people injured. Following the accident, drummer Allen Blickle and bassist Matt Maggioni parted ways with the band and have since been replaced by Sebastian Thomson and Nick Jost.

Frontman John Baizley described their latest album as “intense, heavy and sonically captivating” in a press release:

After releasing a lengthy and investigative record like 'Yellow & Green' we all felt that we needed to make something much more direct and immediate. We wanted to write with our normal focus on artistry, balanced against an increased level of energy and focus. It was important for us to write our new songs with the type of enthusiasm and expressiveness that could act as a counterpoint to the album’s dark themes. As a result, the music came out in an intense, heavy and sonically captivating in a new way, which was important, loathe, as we are to fall into any kind of complacency pitfall or formulaic songwriting routine. 'Purple' is the most fully realized representation of our intention as a band; considering the amount of physical and mental energy spent writing it, we have accomplished something which would have seemed impossible to us a couple of years ago.

Purple is due out Dec. 18 via the band’s own newly launched label, Abraxan Hymns. Pre-orders are already available at iTunes. Baroness have also shared the forthcoming LP’s tracklist and one-fourth of the album artwork (see below); the remaining three pieces of the cover will be unveiled at a later date.

Purple Tracklist
1. "Morningstar"
2. "Shock Me"
3. "Try to Disappear"
4. "Kerosene"
5. "Fugue"
6. "Chlorine & Wine"
7. "The Iron Bell"
8. "Desperation Burns"
9. "If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain)"
10. "Crossroads of Infinity"