siLLy puPPy PROGRESSIVE METALCORE IN FULL COLOR!

As time goes on and the world sallies forth at an ever quickened pace, i have to admit that i like most suffer from a shortened attention span and therefore when i hear about an album that is getting lots of attention that is close to 80 minutes long, i’m a little hesitant to devote so much time to an album that i may or may not like. I could listen to TWO OTHER albums during that same timespan! However when the artist in question is an all time favorite like BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME i feel obligated to check it out especially when the album is somewhat of a sequel of their all time classic “Colors” which was their fourth album and remains their most successful and popular of all.

After a year of grinding to a halt due to the pandemic of 2020, BTBAM had time to reflect on where they had drifted ever since “Colors” hit the scene back in 2007. As it turns out with every subsequent album the band had slowly but surely tamped down the metalcore angst and instead ramped up the progressive rock attributes which while still in fine form seemed to have lost something in the shedding of all those core values that made the band stand out in the first place. Arriving in 2021, the band has released its tenth studio album titled COLORS II which sort of goes back in time and picks up where the first “Colors” left off.

Shockingly for a 21st century extreme metal band BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME has kept the same exact lineup for a very long time and that means that the same musicians who played on the original “Colors” album are back to take things to the next level. These guys have had plenty of time to hone every detail in a glimmering sheen and COLORS II finds the band returning to past glories in surprisingly good form. Guitarist Paul Waggoner has stated that “Colors” was the result of a do or die statement where the band had to shit or get off the pot that meaning it needed to find its own sound and fast to remain relevant in a crowded metal market. A similar moment of reflection occurred during the pandemic where BTBAM took a moment to see where they had steered their musical vessel in the decade and a half since their lauded breakthrough. The band decided it was time to revisit some long lost moments.

COLORS II was designed to flow like a sequel and in many ways it does just that. The album starts off with a non-metal intro and slowly builds momentum until the jarring metalcore rampages of the past shine through once again and like the previous “Colors” allows non-metal musical genres to intermingle and punctuate the cacophonous din in most unexpected ways. The progressive elements such as time signature changes and extended running times are in full regalia on COLORS II. Three of the eight tracks sally forth beyond the ten minute mark with the final epic “Human Is Hell (Another One With Love) ” inching past the 15-minute mark. The stated intent of COLORS II was to create a metal album with an underpinning gospel vibe of all things and although the sounds of gospel are heard from time to time, it would be impossible to discern this motive by listening to the music alone. When all is said and done, this really does sound like the phantom album that followed the original “Colors” that in some alternative universe would have emerged in place of where we experienced “The Great Misdirect.”

Usually i avoid so-called comeback sequels like the plague. The track record in the metal world hasn’t been too positive for these perceived schemes of reviving past glories for profit’s sake. Just a few failed attempts that come to mind are Queenryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime II,” Alice Cooper’s “Welcome 2 My Nightmare” and the plethora of bands that “secretly” revisit an older style without blatantly recycling an album title, i.e. Pantera’s “Reinventing The Steel” amongst many. However despite my trepidation and hesitancy to finally check out COLORS II, i’m pleasantly surprised that it surpasses any expectations and proves that BTBAM still had plenty of proggy metalcore mojo stored up from the “Colors” era which obviously needed to be expressed and finally 14 years later has come to fruition. It’s also not a surprise that BTBAM has a fetish for double dipping into concept albums. After all COLORS II emerges just three years after the two album set for “Automata” and lest we forget the excellent “Parallax” EP and album set.

OK, COLORS II turns out to be no waste of time.

THE GOOD. This is yet another competent album by a band that continues to churn out one innovative and excellent progressive extreme metal album after another. The band shows no sign of burning out and COLORS II allows the unresolved extras of the original “Colors” era to finally emerge. The musicianship is top notch as always and the creativity is firing on all pistons. The band remain absolute masters of juxtaposing everything from jazz funk and polka music to straight on rock with the gnarliest metalcore there is to be heard.

THE BAD. As good as this album is, it does reek of a been here done that before vibe. It’s in all regards a retro album but at least BTBAM are mining their own past and not another artist’s. There’s nothing substantially different from the original “Colors” to really differentiate in the bigger picture save a few new sounds and effects that pop up from time to time. COLORS II at its core is exactly what the title suggests, the second coming. Whether another dose of “Colors” is what scratches the itch or not is a personal decision really but for my tastes COLORS II passes with, well flying COLORS!

Granted almost 80 minutes is a lengthy commitment and will surely prevent many newbies from taking the plunge but for those already indoctrinated into the cult of BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, this is yet another release that while not quite living up to its namesake of yore still rises to be a worthy successor.

Necrotica Colors II is a loaded album title if I’ve ever seen one. 14 years down the line, it seems our friendly neighborhood prog-tech-core-death-etc. band has seen fit to draw from the well of their breakthrough masterwork; and really, why shouldn’t they? Colors remains one of the most acclaimed metal albums of the 2000s, practically redefining what it meant to be a progressive metal band going forward. Between the Buried and Me’s penchant for creative musical set pieces and genre-bending craziness really hit a stride on the landmark record; however, as with any album that garners that much adoration, there will always be that lingering pressure to top it. But let’s be real here: 2021 Between the Buried and Me is quite different from 2007 Between the Buried and Me. So much has changed, whether that be the inclusion of even more off-the-wall avant-garde elements or the growing prominence of vocalist Tommy Giles as a keyboardist. But I think the reason for Colors II being a loaded title is fairly obvious; it’s a title intended to cause excitement for fans - especially longtime ones - but that could quickly turn into crushing disappointment if Colors’ level of quality isn’t at least somewhat met.

On a surface level, Colors II does seem to provide exactly what it should: a highly enjoyable followup to Colors that mirrors it stylistically. The same techy riffs, blazing solos, crazy genre experiments, atmospheric synth excursions, and juxtaposition of clean and growled vocals… they’re all still here. And if stuff like that is your criteria for loving the record, I can’t blame you. “Monochrome” is a pretty dead giveaway that there will be references to the original album, the song taking on a similar “piano intro to extreme metal” crescendo to “Foam Born A: The Backtrack” which opens Colors. On the other hand, there are a few experiments that really surprised me, as they likely wouldn’t have found a place on the original record at all; the hardcore punk elements of “Fix the Error” and random fife-driven folk breaks in “Never Seen/Future Shock” immediately come to mind. Meanwhile, you’ll find more familiar territory with songs such as the chugging extreme-yet-melodic approach of “The Double Helix of Extinction” or the “White Walls”-esque rolling drums and complex web of riffs that comprise closer “Human is Hell (Another One With Love)”.

The performances, as you’d expect at this point, are fantastic. The members really haven’t lost a beat since the original Colors in regards to playing such complex and technical material with grace and confidence. Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring remain a formidable guitar duo, whether it be navigating the crazy rhythm parts of the Dream Theater-esque intro to “Prehistory” or the beautiful - and vaguely jazzy - chords found on “Stare Into the Abyss”. Waggoner is particularly noteworthy for some of the striking leads he pulls off on this record, especially in the fantastic… uh, Latin circus section(?) (that’s probably the best way I can describe it) at the end of “Revolution in Limbo”. And obviously Dan Briggs and Blake Richardson still bring the thunder on the low end of things. However, the member who deserves the most recognition for Colors II is definitely Tommy Giles. He’s often the member who garners the most criticism from both fans and detractors, but he sounds so much better here than he did on the original Colors. His growls have stayed largely the same, but you can tell his cleans have come a long way - both in technique and confidence behind the mic. Plus, on songs like “Prehistory” and “Never Seen/Future Shock” his way of hamming up the more theatrical bits is just so fun.

Unfortunately, there’s one thing holding Colors II back from the heights of its predecessor, and I think it’s a pretty big one. That being: the glue that holds everything together. The original Colors was unapologetic about having wild flights of fancy and not giving a fuck what direction the music was going, but there was always some centralized location the music could come back to. And that was usually in the form of a cathartic release, whether it be the beautiful “feed me fear” section of “Informal Gluttony” or the soaring Pachelbel-esque melody that rears its head twice on “Ants of the Sky”. Not only were these moments anthemic and memorable, but they were also a great way of ensuring the more technical and crushing sections didn’t kill the record’s focus. More importantly, the music would have simply become riff salad without these moments of restraint, and that’s where Colors II all too often hits a wall. 79 minutes is already a beefy album length to begin with, and there simply isn’t enough focus to maintain that runtime. This is particularly felt in “Human is Hell (Another One With Love)”, which just meanders on without much of a reason for being 15 damn minutes long. Even the pleasant soft section that builds up the song’s conclusion is just kinda… there. Sure, there are a few potentially anthemic moments on the record, such as the “monotonous drought” section from “Revolution in Limbo”, but the album really could have benefitted from more of these segments.

With all of that said, I think Colors II can be enjoyed more for its craftsmanship than as an emotional journey. The compositions and diverse arrangements are still a lot of fun and the performances are incredibly solid, but the album often comes off as a jumbled mess when compared to its predecessor; it doesn’t help that so many parts mirror that record as well, thus constantly inviting further comparison. But then again, that’s what happens when you brand it as a sequel, right? The callbacks were inevitable. However, given a lot of the amazing material that’s here, it’s just a shame that I don’t feel much of anything when listening to it like I did with the original Colors. Still, it’s worth a listen for its abundance of great riffs and impressive technical acumen, so don’t miss out on it if you’ve enjoyed Between the Buried and Me’s more recent work.

siLLy puPPy BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME return in 2018, three years after their progressive metalcore extravaganza “Coma Ecliptic,” and unleash a completely new strategy as far as marketing their new product. While the band’s albums have always run on the lengthy side more often than not exceeding the sixty minute mark, for this followup, BTBAM released their new material as a two-part combo that was released as two separate albums four months apart. This first installment AUTOMATA I came out on 9 March 2018 with “Automat II” following on 13 July 2018. While this was an irritant for many to have to wait for the conclusion of a metal tale that is essentially two chapters of the same book, others like myself simply waited until both were released so that i could listen to them instantly in their proper order.

While linked by the daedal conceptualization that revolves around the ability to view the dreams of others, the two albums stylistically differ quite substantially from one another. AUTOMATA I nurtures the more traditional sound that BTBAM has crafted subsequently as the band has crafted more progressive metal elements into their metalcore bombast whereas “Automata II” is the much more experimental of the pair. Both albums are relativity short by BTBAM’s standards and serve more like two separate EPs but they have been marketed as two bona fide albums that constitute a greater whole. AUTOMATA I clocks in at 35:13 and “Automata II” at 33:12. With so many bands releasing an album with an extra disc of bonus material, it’s surprising that BTBAM went the opposite direction and split this essentially single album into half.

Since the band has enjoyed a rather stable lineup of the same five members ever since 2005’s “Alaska,” BTBAM has consistently evolved their progressively tinged metalcore into ever more sophisticated progressive and experimental extreme metal that simply builds upon what came before. For those familiar with “Coma Ecliptic,” AUTOMATA I continues the same intricate weaving of pummeling guitar riffs, progressively designed compositions with time signatures run amok and the ever changing dynamics and tempos that jump from bombastic progresso-core madness with the expected screamed vocal style to the softer passages that implement clean guitar sweeps, soaring atmospheric embellishments and melodic clean vocals that hypnotize before the pendulum swings back to the erratic distortionfest and metalcore mania.

AUTOMATA I consists of six tracks that lyrically tackle the concept of dreams being broadcast for the purpose of entertainment. While the lyrics themselves are quite nebulous in their intricate design, the album allows the listener to explore the ramifications of such technologies that could possibly be used to induce, record and even weaponize dreams for the purposes of overall control. Musically, AUTOMATA I delivers the usual extraordinary daring and tight musicianship that isn’t afraid to tread some of the most progressive pastures that the band has embarked upon to date. The secret of BTBAM’s longevity is that the band has successfully gaged the evolutionary threshold of the fanbase and only deviates a certain degree as not to alienate the followers.

To the uninitiated AUTOMATA I may not sound significantly different than the series of progressive metal dominated albums that have emerged since 2012’s “The Parallax II: Future Sequence” but careful repeated spins finds AUTOMATA I has plenty of its own personality to set it apart from its predecessors. Of course, this album displays the unmistakable unique style that only BTBAM can generate, that is that intense surreal swirling about of the most extreme metal with atmospheric psychedelia and angular convoluted progressive rock in all its escapist tendencies.

Within the six tracks, the pacing is impeccably designed. The dynamic shifts from aggressive to serene allow the attention span never to wander far and the excellent production allows every tiny sound to come to life which makes this a bona fide 21st century musical sci-fi experience. While “Condemned To The Gallows” starts off with clean guitar arpeggios with lush keyboards and electronic vocal effects, the album ratchets up quickly to the metalcore crescendos that weave in and out of the musical flow. While every track holds up well and integrates into the larger framework, the highlight comes from the closing dual pomp of the brief ambient “Gold Distance” in conjunt with the ten minute finale “Blot” which goes for the gusto with some of the craftiest mix of sitar sounds, eccentric keyboard riffing and superb guitar riffs and soloing as it sallies forth down an extreme labyrinthine journey with some of the most soaring melodic vocal deliveries on the album.

There seems to be a general consensus that AUTOMATA I is the weaker of the two installments, however after several spins of these two well-crafted mini-albums, i have come to the conclusion that these two segregated segments of the overall storyline are of roughly equal standing. While “Automata II” is the one that takes BTBAM into completely unexplored arenas including the territory of swing jazz that falls into the Diablo Swing Orchestra camp, AUTOMATA I as a traditional BTBAM progressive metal album is simply outstanding in its delivery from beginning to end. Perhaps the main complaint would be that it plays it too safe and doesn’t deviate too far from previous albums, but despite snuggling up in its comfort zone, nevertheless cranks out six seriously fine-tuned compositions that shows that the band are still on top of their game and in full control of their musical output. This is an excellent followup to their their never-ending progressive metalcore legacy.

siLLy puPPy BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME have returned after a three year hiatus that follows 2015’s “Coma Ecliptic.” Instead of releasing a single lengthy album which has pretty much been their formulaic approach for most of the band’s almost two decade career, in 2018 BTBAM return with a completely new approach and that is take what could easily be a single album with a theme that lyrically tackles the concept of dreams being broadcast for the purpose of entertainment and divides it into two separate albums. The first of these albums “Automata I” was released on 9 March 2018 and continued the more traditional sounds that BTBAM has crafted ever since they launched a more sophisticated progressive metal infused version of their metalcore sound. This second edition AUTOMATA II had to wait four months to find its way into the fans’ musical conclusion of what was launched earlier in the year. This one came out on 13 July 2018 but personally i waited until both were released so i wouldn’t have to have that annoying four month gap. Sort of like binge watching a TV series after it has ended.

While “Automata I” was more of a continuation of the progressive metalcore cauldron of complexities that has been a BTBAM staple ever since 2012’s amazing “The Parallax II: Future Sequence,” AUTOMATA II is the far more experimental of the two having been compared to albums like “Colors” for its unapologetic labyrinthine journey into as many musical styles possible. While there are grains of truth to this comparison, AUTOMATA II in reality is unlike any other BTBAM release as it finds fertile new grounds to construct its esoteric and eccentric musical edifice upon. While each album essentially an EP length by BTBAM standards, they have been marketed as bona fide full albums that provide two sides to the unifying concept that revolves around the unnerving thought of dreams being broadcast simply for the purpose of entertainment. While the lyrics are vague and only poetically and pointillistically fortify the overall theme, the album does confront the listener with the uncomfortable possibilities of covert technologies being used for behavior control and other means. “Automata I” clocks in at 35:13 and AUTOMATI II at 33:12.

While AUTOMATA II is the shorter of the pair, it is without doubt the more experimental and adds myriad elements to its four tracks that have never been explored by the band. While the opener “The Proverbial Bellow” opens with the immediate jarring freneticism of angular guitar riffs and organ runs, the thirteen minute track evolves quickly as it shifts into Pink Floydian space rock that echoes to aspects of “Dark Side Of The Moon” albeit with a more caffeinated tempo. Despite being just a mere slice of the never-ending changes that emerge, the track shifts from the lushly embellished metalcore outbursts to the clean vocal progressive metal effluences that trade off without warning. Instantly noticeable is how AUTOMATA II takes extreme liberties in virtually every aspect of the musical procession with traditional BTBAM elements shapeshifting into bizarre new creations as well as completely new sounds. “Glide” begins with a Mediterranean Cafe style accordion piece that segues into a lush classical piano and back again. While only a short intro for “Voice Of Trespass,” it is unlike anything BTBAM has ever attempted.

“Voice Of Trespass” is also quite the surprise as it tackles the familiar swing jazz metal that fans of Diablo Swing Orchestra will know quite well. In fact, it sounds a little too much like DSO with a series of gypsy grooves, vocal calls and responses and Django Reinhardt-esque guitar riffs alongside the sultry swing timbres emerging from the baritone sax, trombone and trumpet. A true surprise and although a little too DOS derivative for its own good, still performed exquisitely well. The closer “Grid” is the highlight (both albums save the best for last) as it concludes this double album journey with an alternating mix of some of the heaviest metalcore aspects with clean vocal dominated alternative metal passages and sweeping guitar licks that could fit into the best modern neo-prog album’s agenda. However despite the silkiest sweetness generated by the clean vocal segments, “Grid” contains some of the most bombastic extreme metal sequences of the entire two album experience and its rather unique how quickly and frequently these two extremes trade off, mix and meld on their musical playground.

So after all is said and done, despite the horrible decision to separate the release date of each of the two albums and frustrate the fans of this instant gratification world we have constructed, the two albums that have emerged won’t disappoint as each has its own distinct personality while hosting a unifying concept that inextricably binds them like fraternal twins with different birth dates. BTBAM prove themselves to be masters of their own unique brand of progressive extreme metal and only continues to build upon the edifice of the more metalcore based foundation that launched their career nearly two decades ago. While there seems to be a general consensus that AUTOMATA II is the better of the two albums because of its more bold and daring attempts to break free from the established BTBAM paradigm, i personally find the two albums to be on equal footing. “Automata I” may be the less experimental but it is the better album in terms of ratcheting up the band’s already established paradigm in a more consistent manner whereas AUTOMATA II despite the deviation from the norm also has moments that find the band sounding more like other bands than themselves. For me this all balances out so as a whole i find both albums of this concept to be excellent but flawed. One thing is for sure, BTBAM are in no danger of burning out soon.

Warthur The Parallax II finds Between the Buried and Me plotting a strikingly fresh course after spending their previous few releases engaging in a controlled flip of their sound; whereas Colors had been a metalcore album infused with prog sensibilities, the Future Sequence finds the group putting prog metal first and foremost, with metalcore motifs and textures being merely part of a staggeringly diverse portfolio of tools and techniques available to them. Metalcore purists may feel somewhat left behind, but if you liked the prog elements on Colors you'll be well-served here. Conversely, if in the end you found that Colors wasn't quite to your tastes due to the residual metalcore influence, you may find that The Parallax II is more your speed.