Between the Buried and Me. North Carolina-based progressive metal legends at this point. Forming in 2000 out of the ashes of metalcore/deathcore act Prayer for Cleansing, the group released their self-titled debut in 2002, which by all accounts was very color-by-numbers deathcore with a few progressive metal elements that kept it interesting. After that, they only seemed to improve, mixing progressive metal with metalcore much better on records like The Silent Circus and Alaska, with the latter album the genesis of the Between the Buried and Me we know today. Two years later came Colors, which I wrote about Colors for its the tenth anniversary here. On a purely objective level, it seriously turned the tables on progressive metal. If you look at any modern progressive metal act, you can see the influence Between the Buried and Me has left on the scene. Hell, ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy even called Colors his favorite LP of 2007. When a man whose art has inspired your own goes to talk big praise like this, you’re doing something right.
Two years later, the group released the proggier The Great Misdirect, showing that BTBAM had more tricks up their sleeves. The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues EP and full-length Parallax II: Future Sequence represent as solid a pair of concept albums as Between the Buried and Me ever wrote; by this point, the group had dropped the metalcore completely, giving way to a prominent extreme metal influence. Regardless, their writing chops were still there, and Parallax is one of my favorite LPs of the decade thus far. The group didn’t come out with new music until 2015 with Coma Ecliptic, which was… quite awkward, to say the least: the group decided to go for a retro 70s progressive rock style in the vein of Yes and Rush, and while the change was admirable, the music was not up to par. I’d go as far as to say every other main release by the band, with the exception of their self-titled, is better. Three years later, the group announced they will be releasing TWO records in 2018 under the title Automata. The first part was released on March 9th, and the second part will arrive sometime in June. Sonically, Automata I sees Between the Buried and Me dialing back the sound of Coma Ecliptic and finding more of a middle-ground between its prog-rock and the progressive-metalcore sound of their previous releases. This was shown on the first song released for the LP, “Condemned to the Gallows,” a six-and-a-half minute song that delves into Between the Buried and Me at their heaviest, with some progressive-rock concepts balancing it out. One of their heaviest and best-placed breakdowns shows up on this track, which will please anyone who's been missing the more metalcore/deathcore-inspired Between the Buried and Me found on Alaska and The Silent Circus. Maybe this is the group compromising with their fans, but I don’t think it’s too much to worry about; it’s obvious that the group put care into crafting the song. The only other track on Automata I that perfectly strikes this balance is the finale, “Blot.” This song exemplifies why Between the Buried and Me are one of the best bands in all of rock music: they take all of their influences, douse it in their unique progressive metal flavor, and churn out ten-and-a-half blissful minutes of music. On Automata I, Between the Buried and Me are strongest when they are going balls-to-the-wall heavy. “House Organ” and “Yellow Eyes,” when they are heavy, showcase how metal music should be written. They borrow heavily from the Between the Buried and Me of Colors and The Great Misdirect through the filter of Coma Ecliptic and with a smattering of other influences, managing to sound fresh yet again. The introduction to “House Organ” feels like Nine Inch Nails, starting noisy and then flourishing into gritty, heavy guitarwork. The epic introduction to “Yellow Eyes” is nothing short of incredible, as Thomas’ harsh vocals reach an all-time high on Automata I. He sounds louder and more versatile than ever, and his screams are continuously improving even after eighteen years. His synth should not go unappreciated either: some of his playing on this LP is just jaw-dropping, lending most tracks a futuristic, electronic sheen. Where the LP falls flat on its face, though, is when it goes soft. “Condemned to the Gallows” and “Blot” are the only two tracks on the LP that make both sides work. Otherwise, the results are a little bleak. “Yellow Eyes,” notably, has one of the cheesiest clean sections I’ve heard in a while, starting off with Thomas repeating the word “yellow” in a nasally voice. I loved his clean singing up until 2012, but he’s becomes very hit-or-miss of late; and more often than, on Automata I, he misses. “House Organ” would be a near-perfect track if the outro wasn’t so grating, either. It’s frustrating knowing that Between the Buried and Me have performed similar sections well in the past, but here, they’re hard to take very seriously. The worst contender, however, is “Millions.” This is the only song on LP that sounds as if it was ripped straight from Coma Ecliptic, and it is just a bad song, retreading all the elements I didn’t like about that LP. It does not belong. The only other flaw I see with this LP is that it feels incomplete, but that’s to be expected give that, like Hypersleep Dialogues, it’s only the first part of a bigger project. For what we have, Automata I is relatively solid release that instantly makes up for the bad taste Coma Ecliptic left in my mouth. Two of these tracks are some of the best the group has ever put out, and that’s such a relief for someone who feared the worst for BTBAM’s future. I’m not going to cover the concept of the LP until we have the full project in June. For now, I suggest checking out Automata I if only to reacquaint yourself with the Between the Buried and Me we haven’t heard since Alaska. VERDICT: Between the Buried and Me nail their venture back into heavier metal, but struggle with the rest. Regardless, Automata I is a solid release from the progressive metal titans. I am excited to hear Automata II this June.
- Alex Brown
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