Search - Between the Buried and Me :: Between The Buried and Me

The beginning of Greatness....

Sunshine the Werewolf | Canada | 11/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - Between The Buried and Me

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I cannot fathom the fact this was recorded "Live"

(For those that do not know.... that doesn't mean at a live show. - With standard recording process bands usually record Drums, then guitars, then bass, vocals etc... For this album they all plugged into the mixer and recorded it at once... There are some over dubs but man, oh man.... How they did this as a live track is beyond belief)

Now that I have that off my chest I'll get to the review....

Most Hardcore/Metal-Heads have already been familiarized with "Silent Circus" or "Alaska" but this is what started it all. These eight songs combine pure madness, beauty and chaos. For a debut this album showcased some serious potential... And I'm glad to see they have exercised that potential on their more recent albums. However this album had a raw, energetic feel, which can only be captured when a band does a live recording. Even though this album may not be quite as good as there newer material, it is a fantastic debut which gets at least 1 play every few weeks.



Favorite Songs: Arsonist, Use of a Weapon, and More of Myself to Kill

-4.5 Stars



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BTBAM concert... a must see!

Joseph Taylor | Alexandria, VA United States | 02/02/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I agree with RL512... Miles Bodmer, how the hell did you think BTBAM's self-titled 'debut' (keyword) was newer than Silent Circus? Anyway, this band epitomizes originality in the hard music scene. I give this CD a 4, if they had more studio time I give it 5. Silent Circus is a definite 5, no question. Their live show... I give it 6 out of 5 stars. Sooooo good. They know how to get the crowd into it. This is the kind of band that draws people into the hard music scene. Harsh... yet soothing.

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Between the Progressive and the Psychotic

Barry Dejasu | Rehoboth, Massachusetts | 06/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This band is an excellent addition to the (too-) slowly growing sub-genre of progressive hardcore, alongside such bands as Candiria, Bleeding Through, and some of the more "straight-forward" thrashcore bands like Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, Beyond the Embrace, and Erasethegrey. I'm not a fan of hardcore music, but bands such as these clearly distinct themselves from more monotonous ones as Hatebreed and Sworn Enemy, in that the "prog-core" bands have a singular trait that their peers lack: originality.Often a problem that prog-core bands get is that they lack direction. This is especially so for Candiria and BtBaM, for both utilize seemingly random changes and transitions in timing, transition, and tones. Well, this is both a false accusation and a precise realization; for these two bands have precise explications behind their off-the-wall songwriting. The songwriting is simply organized chaos, but without any bombastic "wanking" or "cheese," making for a whole new kind of the proverbial cream of the crop in progressive music.The instrumental section of the band is the usual lineup of two guitarists, a drummer, and a bassist; however, there is such tight musicianship between them, and they have enough talent to blow many an inspiring musician away. Guitarists Paul Waggoner and Nick Fletcher are full of riffs aplenty, making deep, chugging noises reminiscent of sludge metal - but wait, then it's different suddenly, and they are playing harmonized riffs and/or leads with perfect melodies, a la Swedish Melodic Death Metal...and then they're thrashing out like, well, thrash metal. Bassist Jason King backs these insane spasms and spurts of alternating, genre-fusing (and -bending) structures with ease, and while individual sections of his performances may be somewhat simple, to keep up with the constant changes is the real challenge. And then there's Mark Castillo on drums...dear God. This man is simply unbelievable, pounding away at the skins like he's using hammers to break the set apart, with great control over his double-bass-heavy assault, and endless crashing of cymbals, yet all with perfectly fluid direction. Tommy Rogers, lead vocalist and lyricist, has a wide array of vocal assaults and delivers them with spastic and hilarious ease, perfectly harmonizing with (but often contrasting) the instrumentation. One moment he'll be screaming with throaty, guttural wails; next thing you know, he'll be growling with the fury of any death metal band's vocalist...and then suddenly he'll be singing with a clean, simply uplifting sound that is reminiscent of Thom York of Radiohead or Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth (who is also a master of contrasting growls/singing, I might add).Now...how can I possibly describe the songs? "More of Myself to Kill" starts off as heavy grind/thrashcore, then shifts more into death metal, then into...I'm not sure how to describe it. "Arsonist," a direct attack on a specific church in Kansas (which openly protests against homosexuals), is as brutal as the harsh lyrics. There are so many moments of beautiful, distortion-free guitar harmonies and leads, haunting singing, and wave upon wave of screams and growls and fiery riffs of doom...oh, it's all such a flurry of furious/beautiful power.I'm not being too clear in describing this album, am I? Well, just listen to it (or the fantastic sophomore effort, THE SILENT CIRCUS), and you will know what I mean. Between the Buried and Me create and dwell in a void of progressive musical psychosis...and it's easy to fall victim to it."