Wild ride an understatement for impressive 'Colors'
Between the Buried and Me, "Colors" (Victory) ....
The most impressive metal album of the year comes from a bunch of short-haired dudes with a strange band name. Yes, there are elements of "-core" in Between the Buried and Me's sound, but put aside any prejudice. The North Carolina quintet operates way above most metalcore acts. While the savage cornucopias of 2005's "Alaska" showcased BtBaM at their then-best, "Colors" surpasses it.
All the band's trademarks (pummeling deathcore, triumphant harmonies, mathy prog wizardry, dreamy shoegazer pop and copious curveballs) are here, yet the fluid flow of ideas exceeds expectations. The tracks are sequenced without breaks, which is fine. Although moments like the Arabian intro of "Informal Gluttony" or the creepy accordion waltz that intrudes upon "Prequel to the Sequel" stand out, "Colors" is best experienced as if it were one long song.
Tommy Rogers is the rare modern metal vocalist who delivers harsh roars as convincingly as he does blissful Beatlesque harmonies. Guitarists Paul Waggoner and Dusty Waring (also of Glass Casket) put on a masterful clinic that should send all these goofy new spazzcore acts back to their parents' basements, alternately fierce, jazzy, jubilant and even playful.
The album's centerpiece is a pair of tracks both topping 10 minutes. "Sun of Nothing" relaxes for a while with a segment of Floydian psychedelia, making a seamless transition to the grinding sprawl of "Ants of the Sun." Perhaps the best track here, the latter marries tough-guy thrash, starry-eyed ambience and even a brief hoedown complete with hollers and clinking glasses before a finale that stacks riff upon riff as a monument to towering melody.
With so many shades and textures to explore, "Colors" is never a chore despite demanding continuous attention for its 64 minutes. It's cliché to say, "get ready for a wild ride," but in Between the Buried and Me's case, that's not hyperbole, it's a gross understatement.
-- Jeff Pizek