Album Review: Between the Buried and Me – Colors II (Sumerian Records)

Between The Buried and Me built their influential 2007 album, Colors, on an unwavering commitment to artistic integrity. They’ve only fortified that commitment on its 2021 sequel, Colors II (Sumerian Records).

Explains Tommy Rogers (lead vocals, keyboards):

Especially with 2020, we really wanted to give it all we could and show the world we’re still here. That’s part of the reason we named it Colors II. We were in a similar spot when we did the first Colors. Back then, we had just gotten done with OZZfest. We were wondering, ‘Where do we belong in this music scene?’ We still struggle with that. At both of these moments in our career, we decided to just be ourselves and write the best album we can. We came out guns blazing, and I feel like it’s some of our most creative material in a long time.

Fans of the original Colors album will have a lot of fun finding various Easter eggs throughout. Such as the opening salvo of Monochrome and The Double Helix of Extinction, while Bad Habits calls back to the lyrics of Ants of The Sky with the line, “Sleep on…fly on.”

A nice touch but not something that overshadows what Colors II is supposed to be. Which is an album that shows where Between the Buried and Me are right now. Based off the quality of this music, they’re clearly in a very good place.

It gets you in the right mood with the opener Monochrome which has a heartfelt touch that transforms into a distinctive sounding blast of metal. An early showcase of the progressiveness that will be so dominating on this album as it goes on.

Talking of which…

A frenzied discharge of heavy energy, slow and thumping head-banging sections and the ever-present threat of chaos makes The Double Helix of Extinction one to hear. Things then get longer and even more expansive with the gargantuan Revolution in Limbo. Where order is a word that is lost down the back of Between the Buried and Me’s couch. However, that’s not to suggest it isn’t incredibly well structured and incredibly exciting to listen too. It’s just a wild ride of technical instrumentation, epic melodies and furious heaviness.

How do you follow that track? By continuing to be as weird as possible with Fix the Error. One of the most unique songs you’ll hear all year. It’s so much fun though and the perfect ‘ahhhh’ track before we hit the absolute beast that is Never Seen/Future Shock. A near 12-minute progressive epic that will leave all, mouth agape. Few bands could hold your interest over this long a period and that later, we also get the near 9 minutes of Bad Habits and the 15 minutes of Human Is Hell (Another One With Love) should give you some idea of just how inspired this band was with this album.

It’s not all momentous epics though. In between, we get a couple of shorter efforts. Stare into the Abyss with its melodramatic keyboards and emotional effects, and Prehistory with its wacked out playfulness and chunky drum beats before the aforementioned Bad Habits hits and hits hard. Progressive heaviness blended with a continuing desire to keep challenging, this is Between the Buried and Me at their most imaginative.

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Exhausted? No-one could blame you but there’s still plenty more to come. We get jerky guitar rhythm, mournful vocals and an upbeat, weird as hell tempo, to put a smile on the face with the Future is Behind Us. Before Turbulent tries to keep things sensible (aside from the snythy intro) and focused on strong melodies and punchy bursts of heaviness.

Which brings us to the end of this epic album and the aforementioned Human Is Hell (Another One With Love). Just over 15 minutes long… how do you describe the brilliant madness that is this track? It’s the culmination of this album and thrilling celebration of where this band is at today.

Don’t miss this album. You will regret it.

Between The Buried and Me – Colors II Full Track Listing:

1. Monochrome
2. The Double Helix of Extinction
3. Revolution In Limbo
4. Fix The Error
5. Never Seen/Future Shock
6. Stare Into The Abyss
7. Prehistory
8. Bad Habits
9. The Future Is Behind Us
10. Turbulent
11. Sfumato
12. Human Is Hell (Another One With Love)




Links

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Between the Buried and Me - Colors II (Sumerian Records)
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