To me, Between The Buried And Me have always been an esoteric experience. Sure, whilst I have a firm grasp on the technicalities of similarly proggy groups like Periphery for example, BTBAM have historically eluded my understanding with their extremely experimental avant-garde approach to metal. When presented with a chance to review their upcoming album, I relished in the opportunity—“this is it”, I thought to myself. “This is the best moment possible for me to truly process and understand BTBAM”. I’m delighted to say that with Colors II, BTBAM largely resonated with me this time round: the hype around this band is undeniably justifiable, and whilst their music might be mind-bendingly technical, it is fucking amazing.
For those unfamiliar with BTBAM, the five-piece progressive metal band from Raleigh, NC are no strangers to two-parters — BTBAM released The Parallax I: Hypersleep Dialogues and The Parallax II: Future Sequence in 2011 and 2012 respectively, as well as Automata I and II in 2018.As its name would imply, Colors II follows the critically acclaimed smash-hit, 2007’s Colors. On the concept of Colors II, lead vocalist Tommy Giles Rogers remarks: “Musically, it flows like a sequel to Colors, but it wasn’t just another version of that album. On the original, I was analysing myself and analysing humanity. With last year [2020], I was in a perfect position to do that. I wrote lyrics in the same way… it was more of a real-world concept by virtue of making a continuation.” Now that we’ve contextualised Colors II, let’s get into it.
Colors II meritoriously mixes technical death metal characteristics with mid-2000s metalcore riffwork by guitarists Paul Waggoner and Dusty Waring. This is most immediately evident in track two, “The Double Helix Of Extinction”. Destined to relate harmoniously with fans of BTBAM’s heavier material, this song demonstrates heaviness without an over-reliance on obscenely low guitar tunings. This is a particularly admirable feat in today’s scene. Instead, expect explosive blast beats, ferocious fry vocals and even a hint of darker, industrial tones in Rogers’ melodious clean sections.
That isn’t all though, not by a long shot. Song four and lead single “Fix The Error” not only incorporates entertaining circus-inspired synthesizers and bluesy keys in contrast to “The Double Helix Of Extinction”, but features drum solos from Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater), Navene Koperweis (Entheos) and Ken Schalk (Candiria). This erratic fusion of drummers is a prog-metal fan’s wet dream — all three drummers, four counting BTBAM’s very own Blake Richardson, contribute uniquely and stylistically to the song.
“Fix The Error” is book-ended by “Revolution In Limbo” and “Never Seen / Future Shock”, two juggernauts clocking in at nine minutes, twelve seconds and eleven minutes, forty-two seconds respectively. Both tracks are exceptionally stellar in their own rights. “Revolution In Limbo” explores life during the Covid-19 pandemic through impactful and relatable lyrics; “Over and over / Day in day out / Monotonous drought / We didn’t live / We only existed.” Conversely, “Never Seen / Future Shock” appeals to me more-so in its intentful instrumentality; its technical metalcore intro and frenetic verses both possess early Veil Of Maya vibes, sans the soulful sci-fi synths. Good luck to anyone who attempts to head-bang along to the passage commencing at 6:03 — there are some absurdly mental polyrhythms going on.
I mentioned in the introduction that this is the first time I’ve found a BTBAM record to be truly accessible. Undoubtedly, new listeners to BTBAM who are familiar with the likes of The Contortionist or TesseracT will feel right at home with track six, “Stare Into The Abyss”. This song feels like an astral voyage beyond the confines of our homely Solar System, with expansive, cavernous-sounding keys and an adventurous chord progression really driving the composition forward. To its merit, BTBAM continue this astronomical aural atmosphere in later tracks including “The Future Is Behind Us”, in which Rogers intertwines 70s influences with elements of interstellar grandeur.
Colors II isn’t entirely flawless, however. Track seven, “Prehistory”, is… peculiar, and regrettably sticks out to me as this record’s weak link. The song kicks off with what sounds like a bizarrely medieval prog (a la Free Hand-era Gentle Giant) take on Ram Jam’s “Black Betty”, before old-school cartoon effects and creepy carnival samples creep in. I understand the intention here, I’m just not sure if it adds much to the record per-se. After giving “Prehistory” several listens for this review, I’ll likely skip this track on further listens, and that’s okay with me. It might be a bit of a weird song, but the remainder of Colors II is downright phenomenal.
The twelfth and final track on Colors II, “Human Is Hell (Another One With Love)” is nothing short of an enthralling escapade and is easily my favourite track on the record. Now, “Human Is Hell” is certainly not for the faint of heart — this is a fifteen-minute long prog odyssey. From its floaty, funk-infused passages to sublime solos characterised with tremolo flutters, to its brutal speed-metal sections, the level of musicianship displayed is indescribably vast and quite frankly, inspired. What a magnificent musical feat.
Ultimately, there is so much to process on this nearly seventy-nine-minute-long avant-garde adventure that a mere review couldn’t possibly cover everything. Even the most acutely trained ears will need several repeat listens of Colors II to comprehend the sheer level of skilled compositional creativity that it houses. Nuance is hidden in the most unexpected of places, and there are almost infinite meanings one could derive from these compositions.
Whilst I could see many newer listeners being a little scared by the colossal size of Colors II, and its more abstract parts like in “Prehistory”, this album overall is gestalt, and abundantly so at that. Colors II isn’t just brilliant sonically, but it succeeds in following its illustrious predecessor and then some. This record is as much a product of the original Colors as it is our current global circumstance. Pandemic aside, what a time to be alive. Truly. It’s a gift to be audience to ambitious albums like Colors II.
Colors II is available via Sumerian Records on Friday 20 August 2021, and you can purchase or stream the album here. For all things BTBAM and music in general, keep it locked on Boolin Tunes.
9/10