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The Gauntlet: Between The Buried And Me |
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Between The Buried And Me Album Review
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Tracklist
1. Foam Born (A) the Backtrack
2. (B) The Decade Of Statues
3. Informal Gluttony
4. Sun Of Nothing
5. Ants Of the Sky
6. Prequel To the Sequel
7. Viridian
8. White Walls
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A quick briefing of this North Carolina five piece shows a short but extremely successful career that has seen 3 full length albums which were received by fans and press alike with nothing but pure adulation. This adulation wasn’t down to them being an easily marketable flash-in-the-pan fad band (hello Panic! At The Disco) that could be spread across the front cover of ‘Kerrang!’ magazine week in week out, it was based upon an appreciation of pure musical mastery that brought in death metal, jazz, classical and countless other styles of music, all of which was then mixed into a seething, dissonant froth that exploded into your ears at every possible angle.
‘Colors’ is an album that would have to go to ridiculous lengths to wow us again, such was the force of their previous material. To put simply, it does everything Between The Buried And Me mastered in previous albums and then multiplies it by infinitum. It is simply staggering.
There is just so much going on that on first listen it becomes almost impossible to process everything. What is obvious, however, is that the songs take on a much more progressive element in relation to their earlier efforts. ‘White Walls’ is this albums ‘Selkies: The Endless Obsession’ except that it is about 7 (yes, seven) minutes longer. This band has always prided themselves on their constant time changes and this album does this more so than ever before.
To throw in a bit of negativity in this otherwise glittering review, ‘Colors’ is guilty sometimes of taking things that little bit too far. Despite the overwhelming musical ability on show, the songs at times become a tad too self-indulgent; losing the intensity that is otherwise on offer for most of the album. Bizarrely titled ‘Ants Of The Sky’, for example, shreds and shreds away without anything memorable really happening, which makes it easy to lose concentration on what is happening.
With that said, it shouldn’t take much away from what is one of the most ambitious records I’ve ever heard. At times the record is downright hilarious, with country and western vibes being thrown right in the middle of a searing death metal attack, whilst the jazz-infused breakdowns provides groove some bands could only dream about. Every song is linked to the next in some way or another, making the album sound like one ridiculously long song. And when the music is as phenomenally technically proficient as it is, that is no easy feat.
To sum up, whatever style of music may take your fancy, you need to hear this record. You could love it, you could hate it, or it could just change your life.
Review by: Nick Calafato
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