Review Summary: Debated though they may be, it is an undisputable fact that Colors is a fantastic release that merits a listen
5 of 10 thought this review was well writtenQuite possibly the most polarizing band of today, Between The Buried And Me have both a lot to love and a lot to hate about them. Some would point to their tendency to use pointless guitar wankery as a gimmick to astound the listener as a bad thing, whilst others would point out the clear emotion found in their music and an audible will to do something a little different to any other more well known band of the modern collection of musicians, having put out several extremely varied albums.
Among the metal community, their is only one album from this band that is almost universally considered to be stellar, and that is their masterpiece of an album Colors. Blending technical death metal with clean vocals and a higher register of screaming has lead to a style of music that many have chosen to dub progressive metalcore which, whilst not being an accurate summary of the band's sound, serves as a good enough tag to set them aside from the majority of band's out there.
This is an album that manages to seamlessly combine the beautiful with the inhuman and insane. The opening song, Foam Born (A) The Backtrack opens with a piano piece that lasts for a minute, before diving straight into the heaviness and the technicality the band has become known for, with some beautifully composed leads over the top of some crushing and yet melodic riffs before the most brutal face of the band to date is unleashed. Incredibly forceful screams coupled with riffs fast and technical enough to melt the listeners face clean off fade straight into the following song, (B) The Decade Of Statues.
This song contains some absolutely cutting edge riffs that sound vaguely reminiscent of Covenant-era Morbid Angel only made a thousand times better and heavier. The level of technical skill on display at times is a force to be reckoned with, with both Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring handling their instrument with absolutely masterful levels of ability. As this song progresses we are treated to some fantastic blast beats coupled coupled with an overload of pinched harmonics done far more tastefully than many bands out there today. All the while this is going on, Tommy Rogers is screaming and growling his lungs out, adding to the intensity that this album carries even at its slowest guitar moments, created by the low guitar tuning and pristine razor sharp production.
However, also found throughout this album is some incredibly diverse moments, such as the aforementioned piano introduction to the album or the extremely melodic sections at the start of Informal Gluttony. The bulk of these moments are found in the three epics that clock in at over ten minutes each on this album, White Walls, Ants Of The Sky and Sun Of Nothing, each of which contain some incredible progressions found throughout, whilst rarely taking their foot off the throttle. Also scattered across this album are the moments of clean vocals that, whilst not being quite as powerful or effective as the screaming and growling, they certainly do give the band another face and voice to convey the lyrics through.
The albums only real weakness is that some of the songs are just a little too long for their own good. Some of the riffs to White Walls are overused a little too much, and there is not enough substance to keep Ants Of The Sky feeling fresh throughout. However, this album is a stellar release that should be listened to by absolutely everybody remotely interested in metal music, as it rarely disappoints. It contains some truly jaw dropping moments from the emotional piano introduction to the fretboard molestation found at the beginning of Sun Of Nothing, and is an immensely varied album. Buy it as soon as possible. It won't disappoint.
