A near-fatal tour bus crash in August 2012 destroyed the momentum for Baroness' magnificent double album Yellow & Green, with the US outfit's badly injured rhythm section, Allen Bickle and Matt Maggioni, subsequently deciding that their time as road warriors was at an end and a quieter life beckoned.
While singer-guitarist John Baizley's body was shattered (left arm broken in 11 places), he and relatively unscathed soulmate guitarist Pete Adams were determined the story was far from finished.
Once the pain was manageable they struck gold again with new bassist Nick Jost and drummer Sebastian Thomson, then headed to the studio to make up for lost time. And how.
John Baizley did the cover art for Purple
While Purple isn't as epic as its predecessor it's still a mighty heavy rock adventure - Baroness' most accessible, without that being a dirty word.
Baizley and Adams' love of Thin Lizzy has been evident across every one of their colour-themed releases and is once again gloriously celebrated here. But there's also a nod to early U2 on the brilliant The Iron Bell, and the start-to-finish feeling that this could well be the definitive line-up in the band with another classic to come.
For this celebration of the human spirit they deserve all the success - and luck - in the world.
Harry Guerin
Interview with Baroness' John Baizley
Harry Guerin: After the bus crash did you ever think you would call it a day?
John Baizley: No, not really. Maybe for 10 or 12 hours. I'm a musician and I knew I would get better. There wasn't a doubt.
But the heartbreak - just as you had released your double album Yellow & Green the accident happened.
We put a tonne of work into that and it was like having the rug pulled out from underneath you or whatever euphemism you want to use. We felt that. I think it just put fire in our guts that we couldn't let something like that bring us down and stop us from doing the things that we love doing.
It strikes me that yourself and Pete Adams, your fellow guitarist, are rocks for each other.
He was definitely the rock for me. He and my wife were definitely instrumental in teaching the lesson that was, 'This doesn't have to be the end of everything. There's going to be another side of this. We just have to be patient'. So I hunkered down. Pete's been through some things in his life [Adams is an Iraq veteran] - he was saying things to me from a place of experience. That meant a lot to me because it allowed me to trust those words a little bit more.
Were you blown away by the level of goodwill towards the band?
Absolutely. It taught me a very, very important lesson. I think that it has become very easy to be critical, especially regarding the music industry. It's very easy to point fingers and blame money, blame fame, blame power, blame record labels, blame whoever you like. But what people don't spend a whole lot of time focussing on is the fact that there actually is a community and that that community actually matters and does something. That to me is a very beautiful thing.
That's the romanticism that all music fans hope is the reality.
To have felt that community come together and offer a variety of things, from email to phone calls to gifts and a whole lot more stuff I don't really need to get into... To feel that kind of support from the community and to experience it, which is different than just trying to articulate it and just trying to believe in it blindly, was really eye-opening for me. It really got me reinvested in things. I have always romanticised what the music community is and sometimes I've thought to myself, 'Perhaps I'm being a little overly romantic'. But the truth is, no. When the chips are down there are people who are willing to actually lend a hand.
And you've come back an even stronger band. As the new album shows, Baroness keep the sound evolving.
One thing we're cautious with is repetition. That's the killer for any band. Except AC/DC - they did pretty well with it. They're such an amazing band, but we're not AC/DC - let's just get that out of the way. For us, as in life, this creative enterprise that we've got going on, this artistic outlet that we call Baroness is supposed to grow and change with us. As we get older and wiser - or less wise! - in better or worse moods or shapes or whatever, the sound of our band is going to change and transform as we do. We're human beings; we're not meant to end up in the same position as we started. So our music and our art should reflect that.
And inspire others to do the same.
This band would like to offer a potential alternative to the status quo. And we're not unique in doing that. We're part of a group of people I've known since I got involved in music who have that goal: push yourself forward, adapt, change, grow, get better, hold yourself to higher and higher standards. I'm simply happy that we have the capability to do any of that at all.
