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Between the Buried and Me - Colors

Monday, 26 November 2007

Editor's rating

9.5

out of 10

Reviewed by:
Keith Carlson
Top 10 Reviewer
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Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Average user rating: 10.0
1 User reviews

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Music Information

Track Listing:
01. Foam Born: (a) The Backtrack
02. (b) The Decade of Statues
03. Informal Gluttony
04. Sun of Nothing
05. Ants of the Sky
06. Prequel to the Sequel
07. Viridian
08. White Walls

Artist: Between the Buried and Me
Title: Colors
Genre: Progressive Metal
Release Date: 18 September 2007
Record Label: Victory Records
Format: Full-length
Country: United States of America
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Editor review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful


Overall rating (weighted)		9.5
Musicianship		9.0
Composition		9.0
Experimentation		10.0
Production		10.0
Value		10.0

Co-Written with Chad Coup

Looking back on Between The Buried And Me's evolution and progression from their debut to 'The Silent Circus' to 'Alaska' showed that BTBAM has been on the right path to create some of the best music of our time. Their debut was utter shit, 'The Silent Circus' had some cools parts but at the same time their intension seemed misleading, 'Alaska' was far fuller and focused but still the band seemed new to their own sound. After much trial and error it seems they have found the right colors on their own unique palette. Pardon the word play.

The album starts out with a track that wouldn't be out of place on a Radiohead or even Queen album from back in the 70s. The second track picks up with the metal. Now, it is less awkward and better implemented within the softer parts. It feels less like a silly metalcore record and more like a complete piece of progressive metal. The instrumentation got a lot better from their last record as well. I can hear plenty of bass work and the guitar work is nice. "Sun Of Nothing" is a pretty entertaining track; it has lots of parts ranging from scatting, mini-breakdowns, alternative rock, different picking styles, and you name whatever else. "Ants Of The Sky" is very power metal-esque when it needs to be and then very mathcore the next. This is going to sound terrible, but there really are tons of colors present on this record. I think the "metal" techniques BTBAM used this time around have a huge fun element shining through. The CD is a blast to listen to. It never gets monotonous, unlike their earlier stuff.

A big criticism I've had on the band is the blatant rip-offery they implement in their songs. On their last record, 'Alaska,' they made thefts from everyone from King Crimson to Opeth. They did pick some good influences, but they didn't attempt to hide the fact that they were influenced a bit too much. It's not like the majority of their fan base will notice. If the hardcore fans picked up their covers record called 'The Anatomy Of' will they notice the myriad of bands, both good and bad, that made their way into the band's identity. On this record, Even though I can smell the influences, they are masked and smoothed over so well that it doesn't stink as bad as it did in the past. In fact, this record doesn't stink of plagiarism at all.

I've always been highly critical of Tommy Rodger's "metal" singing. It's hard to take a mean Death Metal growl seriously when it's coming from a guy with a faux-hawk, wearing blue jeans, a sports coat and black-framed glasses. Not to mention his typical transitions into super emo, pretty singing. For some reason, on 'Colors' it works. Very well I might add. Call it better song writing if you will.

Though the CD is very ambitious, it never gets its head up its ass. It's serious, 'mature,' and respectable. It is a great feat of arrangement, tones, textures and even delivery. I could go off on all the different music styles present here, but it would be far too big a list and nothing would get accomplished. The bottom line is that a lot of thought went into this. This is Between The Buried And Me's best record and a great record on its own. I think it would be insulting to give 'Colors' a perfect score. It's only fair to say that what I think is their best album will only be outshined by the next.

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Last updated: Saturday, 08 December 2007

User reviews

Average user rating from: 1 user(s)


Overall rating (weighted)		10.0
Musicianship		10.0
Composition		10.0
Experimentation		10.0
Production		10.0
Value		10.0

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Friday, 29 February 2008

Written by Justin Rahner - View all my reviews - Top 10 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		10.0
Musicianship		10.0
Composition		10.0
Experimentation		10.0
Production		10.0
Value		10.0

I give it album of the year. These guys really pave the way for the incorperation of numerous styles of music. Clearly a collaborate effort of all five members, this album takes the progressive grindcore genre to a new angle. Perhaps not nearly as chaotic as PsyOpus or Behold...the Archtopus, but I'm not such a fan of that. I look for a more wholesome experience to music, Colors tells a vivid story. Go and buy this. For those who enjoy a wide variety of genres to be blended together, this album is worth every penny.

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