American heavy rockers Baroness have announced their eagerly-awaited return to New Zealand, with one headline show at Auckland’s Studio on Monday December 5.

Baroness previously toured as special guests on Metallica’s World Magnetic Tour in 2010.

Baroness formed in 2003, slugging it out in their local Savannah scene while adhering to a DIY punk ethic, booking their own tours and silk-screening their own shirts. Founded by artist/musician John Baizley (vocals, guitar), the four-piece line-up includes Pete Adams (guitar, vocals), Nick Jost (bass, keyboards) and Sebastian Thomson (drums).

Over their 13-year history, Baroness have released a colourful assortment of albums, specifically the Red Album, Blue Record, Yellow & Green and most recently, Purple. While the band’s first two releases firmly cemented their spot in the hard rock world (metal mags worldwide awarded Album of the Year accolades for the Red and Blue albums), the melodic double album, Yellow & Green, saw Baroness’ audience expand, kicking off with a Top 30 chart debut in the U.S. and a spot on year-end best of lists from music outlets worldwide.

In late 2015, the band announced the formation of their own label, Abraxan Hymns (partnered with Cooking Vinyl Records, Australia), and the release of Purple, a 10-song collection recorded in upstate New York with producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev).

In the months since release, the collection has been universally praised, with Pitchfork saying Purple features “some of the biggest, strong songs Baroness has ever written,” Entertainment Weekly calling the album “their finest release yet,” Rolling Stone Australia dubbing it “the most dynamic, robust guitar album this year,” Mojo echoing those sentiments, saying “Baroness have delivered their masterpiece: an album grounding their cosmic heaviosity with earthbound, compelling drama.”

Baroness

Monday December 5th: The Studio, Auckland
My Live Nation pre-sale:
10am Wednesday August 24 until 9am Thursday August 25