BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME „Alaska”

Music: Progressive Death-Core
Country: USA
Website: http://www.betweentheburiedandme.com/
Duration: 53.56


Cool Songs: All Bodies, Selkies: The Endless Obsession, Roboturner, The Primer, Autodidact

Maybe it’s just me, but is this band possibly one of the most underrated metal acts in existence. Sure, their cause hasn’t been helped by the fact that their line up hasn’t been able to stay together long enough to get a decent photo shoot completed, but in all honesty the profile of this band pales in comparison to their labels mates, and other, quite frankly, lesser talented acts. It’s just one of those strange quirks of the music industry. North Carolina’s Between the Buried and Me isn’t the first metal act to suffer this fate, nor will they be the last. Are they concerned? Not likely. They may not even care. If they do, then all they can do is write albums like ‘Alaska’ and hope things change.

Let me just say right now, that ‘Alaska’ (Between’s third full length) is easily one of the more creative and intriguing albums of 2005. As a follow up to 2003’s incredible ‘The Silent Circus’ this album sounds like a logical step up in the advancement and development of their overall sound. However, I wasn’t expecting such a leap. ‘The Silent Circus’ was a fairly diverse affair – marching the line between all out Deathcore brutality and chilling acoustic passages. ‘Alaska’ has been conceived around a similar template, but rather than just pursuing ‘more of the same’ BTBAM have embraced a whole new ‘progressive’ angle in their song writing.

This is an amazingly conceived record – bursting with charisma and personality, it is both technical drenched and melodically infused in equal measures. The tangential mindset of their compositions also means that they embrace virtually every heavy music genre in the game. Melodic Death, Black Metal, Modern Metalcore, Progressive Rock, Lounge music, Latin beats, experimental jazz fusion and more. The cocktail is volatile and explosive whilst also providing delicate serene sections that owe more than a nod in the Opeth/Pink Floyd/Rush direction. The stark contrast that these quieter elements provide are perhaps the most enthralling moments of the whole album. Oh, the jagged chaos that is the bedrock of ‘Alaska’ is more than staggering – it runs rings around most of their competition – however, it’s the progressive ideas that display magnificent air of confidence and adds a whole new level of depth to their music. ‘The Silent Circus’ only hinted at such possibilities.

The highlights of this album are far too numerous to mention, suffice to say that there is virtually a surprise around every conceivable corner. From the epic blow out qualities of ‘All Bodies’ (a simply phenomenal track) to the Gothenburg gallop of ‘The Primer’ and the sinister ramble of ‘Autodidact’, the creative ideas, whether that be in riff patterns, melodically imbibed solos, off –kilter drum rhythms to black metal blasts, the flow is unending. It is also important not to underestimate just how much ‘BTBAM’ have invested in the ‘melodic’ dynamics of ‘Alaska’. If ‘The Silent Circus’ sounded bloated and convoluted at times, ‘Alaska’ has this amazing ‘harmonic’ feel about it – brought about by an astounding production (Jamie King/Matthew Ellard) that has given the vocals of Tommy Rogers and more importantly the riffs and solos of guitarist Paul Waggoner much more room in the mix. Nowhere is this highlighted more than the incredible ‘Selkies: The Endless Obsession’ – the dynamics of this track is jaw dropping – its one part Deathcore meets Cynic/Dream Theater meets Opeth.

‘Alaska’ stands as a metaphor for the whole atmosphere and feel of this album. Its very landscape is both harsh and unforgiving, yet also beautiful and inviting. ‘Alaska’ will confound you from the very beginning. It’s just as head caving and technically involved as ‘The Silent Circus’ and just like that album, ‘Alaska’ will require at least half a dozen close listening sessions to fully digest the enormity of its contents. It stands as completely unpredictable and is easily one of the most challenging and thoroughly interesting metal albums of the year. Ignore at your peril.

note: 9.4/10

Tracklist

All Bodies
Alaska
Croakies And Boatshoes
Selkies: The Endless Obsession
Breathe In, Breathe Out
Roboturner
Backwards Marathon
Medicine Wheel
The Primer
Autodidact
Laser Speed