In July’s Black Market, we noted that the back half of 2015 is gonna be filthy with notable metal albums. I’m personally excited about Horrendous’ Anareta, Wild Throne’s Harvest Of Darkness, and Sivyj Yar’s Burial Shrouds, to name a few. I’m also really excited to hear the new Maiden record, of course, and this band from California called Deafheaven have something on the way that seems like it might be interesting. And now, we’ve got one more to add to the stack: The majestic Georgia sludge-prog band Baroness have finally announced the release of their fourth album, the follow-up to 2012’s double LP, Yellow & Green. It’s gonna be called Purple, and it’s coming out in December. Oh, and they released a song from the album, too. It’s “Chlorine & Wine.” LISTEN!

It’s kind of hard to believe it’s been only three years since Yellow & Green, considering everything that transpired for Baroness during that time. A month after that album’s release, the band’s tour bus got into a terrifying accident, leaving many of the people aboard physically and psychically mangled. Baroness’ rhythm section quit soon thereafter, and leader John Baizley went through a grueling rehabilitation and recovery process just to get to the point of being able to play guitar again. By May 2013, Baroness were finally back on stage with a new rhythm section: bassist Nick Jost and drummer Sebastian Thomson. The band was reportedly in “the second half of writing” the new Baroness LP way back in September 2014. This past April, while discussing the great new album from his other band, Valkyrie, Baroness guitarist Pete Adams said that the follow-up to Yellow & Green was “probably three weeks into getting near its completion.” Then, on June 10 — no less than eight weeks after Adams made that statement — Baroness shared a photo of the band recording with legendary producer Dave Fridmann. Then on July 22 — out of absolutely fucking nowhere — Baroness revealed that the still-unannounced new LP would be released on the band’s new Abraxan Hymns imprint, rather than longtime label home Relapse.

So it has by any standard been a long three years — it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for this album. But we haven’t. And now? We won’t have to wait much longer.

Baizley talked to Rolling Stone about the new album, saying:

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 out 12/18 via Abraxan Hymns.