For this one I went more for describing what was happening with the music.

Before starting this I was looking to do something that wasn’t one thing the whole way through. “The Sweetest Curse” does shift a bit, but (other than the closing seconds) it remains wholly familiar to itself in each of its sections.

I’d hoped to describe more of the imagery or mood (or both) coming forward, but that didn’t happen and so this ended up being more about what was happening on the surface.

Baroness’ “The Sweetest Curse” is from Blue Record.

I hope you enjoy.

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A sludgy slide in and some rhythmic “chugging” with some spikes. Mean and aggressive, but also groovy. Soon the drums, bass and a second guitar punch right in. Some chugging harmonies with a slightly “up” sound on some of those “whirling” bits. The percussion plays something tight and a little groovy and the bass stays anchored and low.

The vocals come in, all low, shouted stuff and whilst aggressive, perhaps not as forceful as the music. Kind of. Shouts, shouts and some that fade in from nowhere, less continuous but sharper.

The moment the vocals stop and suddenly the band rock out more, preparing to rise and become more “epic”. Another quick few words, low and gravelly, then the song lightens up a little and brings in more melody. A sort of vocal interplay happens, a little different from the earlier one and the band are building to some sort of climax. The music is lighter, yet just as heavy and much groovier. The melody is less aggressive, there’s a loose “solo”, then it drops out and the riffs come back. Drums crash in and the climax arrives.

The band chug along, just driving forward and the vocals come back in and it’s all drive it forward, drive it home, keep it feeling climactic like some sort of grand release and just keep on driving.

Its a riff jammed on and then closed in the largest way they can make it without going too overboard. Loud percussive strikes just help to hammer the whole thing.

However, rather than end on that, clean guitar sounds quickly weave around themselves, creating a “meditative” sense. It’s kind of jarring, but is not an entirely unwelcome thing for the song’s end.