Between the Buried and Me - Automata II

When we last heard from legendary prog-metallers Between the Buried and Me, it was way back on March 9 of 201...8.  So fourteen weeks ago.  Wow, the world seems super different now.  Feels like it's been years.  Anyway, three months ago, the touring stalwarts released Automata I, their eighth album.  Mick handled the Töp's review, and he liked it, closing with the line "BTBAM hasn't faltered yet."  I agree with his assessment.  So now, Between the Buried and me is preparing to launch Automata II (out July 13th via Sumerian), which is their second eighth studio album (we'll get to that).  The first half of Automata was welcomed by BTBAM diehards; will the second get the same treatment, or will the band finally falter?

Exclusive Interview - Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried and Me)

Today marks the release of Between the Buried and Me's eighth studio album, Automata I. As is reflected in our review of it that was posted earlier this week, Automata is an exclamation point on an already decorated career. With this new release, the band remains steadfast in their pattern of never staying in one place stylistically. Amidst all of the new album buzz, I was lucky enough to catch a few words with lead vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers.

Read the interview after the break!

Between the Buried and Me - Automata I

 In the world of contemporary progressive metal, there are few names bigger than Between the Buried and Me. Ever since 2005's Alaska, the band's sound has continued to evolve by pushing itself into more ambitious directions. Their previous effort, Coma Ecliptic, took a more operatic approach, forcing more of their experimental quirkiness to the forefront. And while it was an enjoyable listen, it doesn't hold a candle to the material from Colors through Future Sequence. With Coma not having delivered a track that could stand toe to toe with the likes of "White Walls", "Swim to the Moon", or "Silent Flight Parliament", my expectations for the band's material moving forward were certainly tempered. By taking the hard-hitting elements of their earlier material and weaving it together with the discernable effort to not remain pidgeon-holed, Automata's first half acts as a bridging of two very distinct phases of their career.

Albums of the Year, Then and Now (2003-2007)

Ah, December.  That magical time of year when the blogger’s fancy turns to letting you know their favorite albums of the year in a long, drawn out list.  Fear not; this is not that list.  That list will be released sometime within the next few weeks.  This is more of a primer, a dual post to get you started thinking about what “Album of the Year” really means while at the same time giving you an unasked for history of my listening tastes over the past decade… and more importantly, how things have changed in hindsight.

Skinny Jeans and Blast Beats

Let’s play a quick game.  It won’t take long, and it won’t be hard.  Here’s how it will work: I’m going to ask you a question, you think of the answer, and then we see if you’re right or not.  Sounds fun, right?  Let’s give it a whirl.  Who won the World Series in 1984? Did you say the Detroit Tigers?  If you did, you were right.  Here’s another one, just for kicks: Which came first, Blackwater Park or Leviathan?  Blackwater Park you say? My, you’re good at this.  Ok, enough practicing, let’s break out the real deal.  What’s a name for a sub sect of society that is pretentious, overbearing, and spiteful toward those who think differently about pop culture than they, dresses in a manner deemed to be “weird” to the mainstream, and often views music, movies, et al in terms of absolutes rather than subjectively?  Cue the “Jeopardy” theme… ok.  Got your answers?  Raise your hand if you said “hipsters.”  Well that’s cute, and somewhat accurate, but it’s not what I was going for.

The Vinyl Spin Debut

Howdy all,

For those who weren't aware, not only was this past Saturday 4/20 but it was also Record Store Day, a celebration of independent record stores where numerous unique vinyls and cds are released.  Wanting to get more into the spirit of things, Durf and I decided to try and launch a potential video series for Brutalitopia entitled "The Vinyl Spin."  

Check out what it's all about after the break (Spoiler Alert: it's about vinyls).

God Help Us: The Saints and Sinners Tour 2011 Lineup Announced

I shouldn't really have to say much here.  Your eyes don't deceive you.  This fall, Between The Buried and Me will be headlining the Saints and Sinners Tour with support from Animals as Leaders and Tesseract.  If you aren't in the least bit ecstatic about this concert, you clearly don't give a f**k (props to Islander at No Clean Singing for posting this up) about great/epic music.  Nothing else needs to be said.  God help us.

Tour dates after the break

Review: Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues

What a time it is for progressive metal fans. When Between the Buried and Me released Colors back in 2007, they immediately joined the front lines of forward thinking, prog-metal juggernauts alongside the likes Dream Theater and Opeth. A subsequent spot on the Progressive Nation tour with the aforementioned groups seems to have only sped up the evolution and innovation of BTBAM. After completing their run on Victory Records with 2009’s The Great Misdirect, the group signed with Metal Blade Records. In April they released their newest aural journey: The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, a 30-minute, three-track EP that finds the band continuing to discover, develop, and explore their unique metal sound.

Read the rest of the review after the break.

Exclusive Interview - Between The Buried And Me

I may very well have experienced the best Easter ever this past Sunday.  Going to my first Between The Buried and Me headliner show is explanation enough.  Throw in The Ocean and Job For A Cowboy and you have yourselves a show that would be straight up silly to miss.  While the show was fantastic, the real spectacle for me was the oppurtunity to interview BTBAM's drummer, Blake Richardson.  However, you'll see that a few other members of the band make an appearance in the interview.  They're definitely all a great bunch of guys and seem to be enjoying life right now.  Be sure to check out their new ep, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, if you haven't already.



Also check out two complete songs I managed to record from their show in Joliet after the break.

Yet Another Reason To Love 2011: New BTBAM EP Full Stream!

As if there hasn't been enough awesome material to listen to thus far, 2011 has outdone itself again.  Between The Buried And Me's upcoming ep, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, is now streaming in its entirety at Metalsucks.  I shouldn't have to say anymore.  You know what to do.  Get to it!  The new ep is set to drop via Metal Blade on April 12. 

The ep is also available after the break in the form of youtube clips if you happen to find that more convenient.

BTBAM And Metal Blade - Finally Is Right

So I was greeted this morning with the third installment (which now justifies it as a trilogy in my eyes) of Between the Buried and Me's "Soon" series.  This third one is without a doubt the most useless of them all.  BTBAM fully acknowledged this by saying on their facebook, "Man you folks are really gonna hate us now."


However, they also dropped a much bigger bomb this afternoon.  Check out to see what it is after the break.

Thomas Giles Music Vid For "Sleep Shake"



In case you haven't heard, Between the Buried and Me's frontman, Tommy Rogers, has released his own solo project under the alias of Thomas Giles.  The release, Pulse, has been getting pretty stellar reviews as of late.  I can say honestly that I agree with them as well.  Tommy truly demonstrates his vocal talents on this record.  With that being said, don't expect this one to have the traditional death metal elements you've come to expect from BTBAM.  This is much easier on the ears, but in a good way.  Enjoy.

-Mick    

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Between Epicness and 2011



With 2010 having been the year for black metal, progressive metal is looking to make quite an outing in 2011.  With bands such as Cynic, Opeth, Protest the Hero, the Human Abstract, Mastodon, Scale the Summit, and Dream Theater  either coming out with new material or are at least starting to work on new matrerial, I already foresee making a top 10 list for 2011 to be nearly impossible.  But wait a minute....I left out a pretty key name from that prog all stars list.  Find out who it is after the break.

Please Tell Us BTBAM.....How Soon?!

Between the Buried and Me have just released a second installment of random studio footage in what I've now officially dubbed the "Soon" series.  BTBAM is expected to release an ep sometime this year but no other details have been released as of yet.  How long must we wait?!

-Mick

Between The Buried And A Tour Bus

You can click on the picture above to take you to a video that BTBAM just posted up on their facebook page.  It's worth a good laugh or two.  It's essentially Paul taking you through their tour bus while they were on the Cool Tour over the past summer.  This video, however, made me think of MTVs Cribs a lot and I don't exactly know how to feel about that.

-Mick 

New BTBAM Is On It's Way!

That's right folks. Between The Buried and Me just annnounced this morning via their facebook page that they will be spending the next 10 days in Toronto with 3 time grammy winning producer David Bottrill (King Crimson, Tool, Muse, Dream Theater, Mudvayne) recording around 30 minutes of entirely new music! We will be hearing more updates soon I'm sure but I'm already curious what BTBAM has got planned for the upcoming new year. Perhaps an EP or another full length album (crossing my fingers big time on the full length album). We'll keep you posted as soon as things develop more.

-Mick

BTBAM....I Can't Wait Any Longer

So Between The Buried And Me just released this video on youtube today and the only word that displays at the end of the clip is "Soon."  The film only contains random studio footage, but nonetheless, I already can't wait for what they're working on to be released.  It's sure to be another masterpiece.

- Vicious Mick \m/ \m/