When it comes down to genre bending combined with incredible musical skills few do it better than Between The Buried And Me. Albums like “Colors” (2007) and “The Great Misdirect” (2009) are just as mind blowing to me as any album by Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree or King Crimson. Anyhow, BTBAM are back with their latest effort, entitled “The Parallax II: Future Sequence”. Let’s see whether it can hold its ground against its illustrious predecessors.
Just as the aforementioned “Colors” and “The Great Misdirect,” the latest BTBAM record is a stellar journey that touches elements from death metal, progressive metal, thrash metal, jazz/fusion and even some surf rock elements here and there. The band’s collective skill to fuse all those elements together into a coherent musical piece is just uncanny. These guys are technically just as skilled as the Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater guys, but it never becomes overbearing. It all fits into the grand scheme of things.
“The Parallax II: The Future Sequence” is an album that keeps on giving. Every listening session uncovers something new, like the vintage keyboards in “Astral Body” and “Lay Your Ghost To Rest” and a little flute segue in “Melting City”. It’s this attention to small details that really sets Between The Buried And Me apart from all its contemporaries. It’s not that the band is steering into a complete new direction, but by adding new colors to their musical palette they manage to keep things fresh and exciting. “Extremophile Elite” and “Bloom” are two other poignant examples of BTBAM’s extraordinary skills.
This album is blessed with a clear and organic production. It’s heavy enough to support the extreme metal elements, but it’s the warmth sound that gives “The Parallax II: Future Sequence” a distinct vintage rock feel.
With “The Parallax II: Future Sequence” the guys in Between The Buried And Me delivered one of the finest records in the progressive death metal field of this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if this album would end up in my year list of 2012. Recommended!
yo man i’ve been waiting for this album for 3 years now. I’m stoked that you gave it a good review but it is honestly one of the least descriptive reviews i’ve ever read. how much clean singing is there in comparison to the previous records and are there any really epic moments like the last few minutes of swim to the moon. “the first time in my life i’ve felt pure joy” and onwards.
I’ve listened to this album too and it’s almost hard to go really into detail because there’s so much going on and it’s a little overwhelming. This album probably has the most clean vocals yet, but they’re delivered amazingly and only make his screams sound so much heavier, and with that I have to add Tommy’s voice sounds especially heavy this album. It’s really hard to review this album, but to put it simply it’s an amazing album and any btbam fan who isn’t a silent circus fanboy will love this album to pieces. Get your hands on it asap and give it a listen. It’s a beautiful flowing masterpiece, the composition in their songs and album as a whole is really a step up. Btbam never dissapoints.