Between The Buried And Me
Colors

"Colors": a word that evokes concepts like polychromy, variegation, iridescence... "Colors" is also the title (obviously translated into Italian) of the latest, monumental work by Between The Buried And Me, an "extreme metal" outfit from North Carolina with numerous lineup changes behind them (singer and keyboardist Tommy Rogers and guitarist Paul Waggoner are the only permanent members ab origine). And there couldn't have been a more fitting title: compared to the previous "Alaska" (2005), it is even more extravagant and complex, more varied and ever-changing. It is an amalgam of death metalcore fury and extraordinary progressive technicality, punctuated by ethereal melodies, jazz phrasings, novel pop flavors, and assorted oddities (there's even a western interlude with banjo in the suite "Ants Of The Sky" and a cabaret piece with accordion in "Prequel To The Sequel"), that characterizes this album, which was released last September.

Do you want to hear a blast beat lending itself to a fun jazz phrasing? Or a brutal growl become a calm whisper? If your answer is yes, "Colors" is exactly for you from the very first notes, since in the first track, "Foam Born/ The Backtrack", a subdued piano introduction ("Foam Born") gives way to devastating anger ("The Backtrack") that fully takes shape in the second track, "The Decade Of Statues", which nonetheless offers a singable refrain and jazz digressions in the finale. Even better is the subsequent "Informal Gluttony", the best piece on the album: a tribal introduction reminiscent of Tool, brutal yet very technical verses, and a moving chorus. If not better, "Sun Of Nothing" is certainly more ambitious, eleven minutes where the usual fierce ensemble with dizzying and intricate rhythms are counterbalanced by a cheerful funky-pop motif and an intense final melody that even Radiohead would envy. And it's precisely ambition that reigns over the rest of the work, where the influence of Dream Theater becomes increasingly predominant: in the aforementioned "Ants" and "Prequel", in the brief instrumental interlude for clean guitar "Viridian", and in the weighty concluding quarter-hour entitled "White Walls", Between seem less and less like an extreme metal group with modern progressive influences and sound more and more like Dream Theater with predominantly death vocals. A bit more artifice and a bit less personality for this part of the listening experience, which perhaps drops a notch below the first, but it still doesn't lack in spontaneous emotions, especially in the quieter sections.

In short, Between The Buried And Me impress: they are so chameleonic, eclectic, and stunningly unstable that they manage to change a multitude of atmospheres and moods in a single song. What more could one ask for? Intriguing, a tad over the top, but nonetheless captivating, "Colors" is a sensational product, and calling it a "masterpiece" is no exaggeration.