Sound Colour Vibration (Music | Art | Film | Technology | Science | Culture)

Five piece Between The Buried and Me are some of the most talented musicians around, showing a level of technique that leaves the mind in pieces after contact. The band has gone the extra mile this year and last year as well with a very different set of releases in their catalog in The Parallax and The Parallax II. Surrounded around a concept and storyline that sets the music into a very specific direction of composition, it’s stunning to see the musical setting of a band who explores this much territory of sound go even further with the experimental side of things. When we got The Parallax II: Future Sequence in, we knew right away this was a record we would really stand by. To hear music composed in this form is within itself a rare treat but to hear so many refreshing forms of music channeled into the groups body of works show how much they are willing to step out on the edge. The results are a band who took the time needed to put this many musical ideas into a record with the type of achievement obtained in all forms of the music present. In other words, The Parallax II: Future Sequence is mind blowing in every way possible and requires a lot of attention on the listen to grab everything going. It’s a challenging listen and with any challenging listen the rewards are infinite when giving yourself to it in the right way.

The conceptual basis of The Parallax story is just as important as the music, setting in place the purpose of the music. “Both men exist in isolation, one because he runs away from the life that is his and the other when he leaves his dying planet in the hope of creating new life elsewhere, through the planting of souls,” explains vocalist Tommy Rogers. “As the story progresses you realize they are actually the same person, and at the end of the journey they’re responsible for destroying all life as they know it, reinforcing the idea that humanity is a destructive species, and that there’s some kind of innate flaw about us that causes us to destroy everything we touch.” The music is just as exploratory as this description sounds, becoming the groups most accomplished, exotic and varied body of work to date. The heavy metal parts of their past works are still intact but are placed around long passages of Yes esk interplay and a state of experimentalism that taps into some interesting states of music that are more associated with time travel than a genre or scene. The technicality the band is known for is never removed on these concepts records as each member commands their instrument with precision.

The moments that really grab me are the experimental sections. “Lay Your Ghosts to Rest” has a remarkable section close to the ending that sounds like something Praxis would create. Fretless bass and highly dynamic drum work lay back in the groove with ease while exotic guitar embellishes the music. “Extremophile Elite” also has a section that sounds like Praxis with vocal work that is reminiscent of Les Claypool. To hear the band snap back into highly charged metal parts that move in snake like patterns is beyond words. “Telos” is the song on the album that I am drawn towards the most, as the level of technical approach is off the charts and the experimental break down is exactly what I love about music. The drums become highly involved while the guitar brings shades of early 70′s Pink Floyd. It’s a very timeless sound and shows how much soul the group has. The break down is washed over with a very psychedelic synth that goes everywhere and gives it that extra dimension none of the rest of the record has.

I don’t listen to a lot of metal but this was one album where the artwork, the concept and bands history pulled me in. The Parallax II: Future Sequence lives up to the bands technical prowess and shows a band whose evolution defines a much larger scope in terms of influence and possibilities. I love technical music that is this powerful and dynamic. I really feel like I am inside of a Fantomas, Praxis or Yes record when I hear The Parallax II: Future Sequence.

-Erik Otis

Order the album directly from the bands official website HERE

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Between the Buried and Me’s video “Astral Body” from the album “The Parallax II: Future Sequence”. Directed by Wes Richardson – www.wesrichardson.me