A View From The Back Of The Room: Baroness & Graveyard (Live Review By Matt Bladen)

Baroness, Graveyard & Pallbearer, Marble Factory, Bristol 21.11.24

Just look at line up! If you wanted riffs you were definitely going to get them from these three bands. No wonder then that Bristol's Marble Factory was full to the gunnels from the off, a positive thing when it's a little brassic outside. It was actually so cold that the Swedish band on the bill complained about how cold it actually was! Let that sink in.

Thankfully the weather didn't dampen the excitement as this was billed as a co-Headline tour Bristol doomsters Pallbearer (8) got the show going with their long slow atmospheres ready for heads to be nodded in perfect unison. Comprising four songs, two from their most recent record, the psychedelic elements of their music captured the imagination of the whole crowd.

It was all going well but a lead problem stopped the momentum mid song, for a short moment of silence as they tried to fix it, but once it was sorted we were back on the riff train. The fact that everyone was still so invested and stayed quiet as they tried to fix things was quite impressive. A polite applause welcomed back Silver Wings and then the two more melodic offerings from the most recent record.

I've watched Pallbearer a few times and in Bristol they were as good as I've seen them for a while, a well curated setlist, crushing heaviness and moments of dreamy atmospherics, with a brilliant light show too, they were an ideal beginning to the night as their sound sat somewhere in the middle of both headliners.

So to the headliners, first Sweden's retro riffers Graveyard (9), the pace noticeably quickened when these hip shaking rockers took to the stage busting out the 70's inspired jams, it was a a bit of a throwback set with most of it from Hisingen Blues and Lights Out, the crowd delighted that they got to hear Uncomfortably Numb, Slow Motion Countdown and Ain't Fit To Live Here, expanded to a five piece with and extra, dedicated guitar player, there was a more depth.

The addition of another guitar playing freeing up the Joakim Nilsson to just be a singer and let his inner Robert Plant out. Especially towards the end of the set. If you want a lesson in pacing Graveyard are the band to watch, as their set built up to a heady climax, stoner/psych and good old rock n roll with biting guitars and wild vocals, it whipped up the audience into a frenzy, the heat rising considerably by the time Walk On and The Siren hit hard.

With a jolly good rocking behind them it was time for another hour with our other headliner. This would be something different though as Graveyard are about enjoyment, Baroness (9) in Bristol especially are about catharsis. It's actually encouraged, John Baizley saying as much as they moved towards the end of the show. Baroness want inclusivity, crowd and band in unison to heal through the power of the riff.

There were plenty of riffs, bucket loads of them Baizley the architect of them alongside bassist Nick Jost, they are the duo that keep the sludge beginnings of the band with distorted chugging beneath the more ethereal presence of lead guitarist Gina Gleason, she's been a perfect addition to the band since joining in 2017, permently smiling and shredding like hell, playing every melodic nuance and solo section as Baroness took songs from all of their studio albums.

While the earlier tracks from Red Album and Blue Record were the best received, as were the three from Yellow & Green, the most potent were the ones taken from Purple; If I Have To Wake Up (Would You Stop The Rain?)/Fugue and Shock Me, these written as way for Baizley to cope with the bus crash he and the band (at the time) were involved in just outside Bath. As this area holds an odd set emotions for him, these two songs hit particularly hard. Again the light show was incredible, the colour palettes of albums the songs featured in matching when they were played.

It's little things like this that have made the fandom for Baroness so intense. They bring massive riffs, psychedelic journeys, emotive vocals and sense of community and inclusion to their shows that allows you to experience them not just through your eyes and ears but your soul. If there was a better night for psychedelic riffage and the human experience, I haven't found it. A collective of individuals, huddled from the cold, worshipping the riff, together. What more could you want?