| When I saw that BtBaM were signed to Victory Records, home of Hawthorne Heights and Aiden, I was immediately turned off before even hearing the band. But after weeks of seeing people praise them, I gave in and downloaded Alaska. Wow. How this extremely talented band got lumped in with the shit of Victory Records, I will never know. Equal parts progressive, melodic, and heavy, Alaska is an album that takes time to fully comprehend. While some parts stand out immediately, such as the end of "Selkies: The Endless Obsession," the real gems take a while longer to find. Now, I'm not one to be impressed by guitar solos anymore, but dammit can those two guitarists come up with incredibly emotional solos (check out the aforementioned "Selkies," and if you want to venture further into the band's discography, check out "Mordecai" from The Silent Circus). Like Converge, BtBaM are technically proficient, featuring some of the finest musicians in metal today. While they might not play as fast or as loud as other bands, they play parts that fit the moods of the songs perfectly, and that is a trait that is far more respectable than Dragonforce-type wanking. Lastly, there is vocalist Tommy Rogers. The dude is incredible. He has quite an impressive range, able to do anything from beautiful clean singing, to black metalish shrieks, to death grunts. While Alaska might be a tad overrated by overzealous fans, it does indeed deserve much of the praise that it gets. |
