To be given the chance to listen to unreleased music is always a privilege, but having the opportunity to review the upcoming album release of prog-metal titans Between the Buried and Me is mind-blowing. 

Here’s a band I’ve enjoyed listening to for over a decade, witnessing their transition from technical metal to progressive-metalcore madness throughout their career. Their 10th album, ‘The Blue Nowhere’, is on another level.

Image Credit: Between the Buried and me / Youtube

Starting with a cacophony of 80s prog-strangeness that sounds equal parts Rush, Frank Zappa, and Mr Bungle. BTBAM start this album with a very positive vibe, adding in stabs of distorted guitar and blastbeats to add that signature heavy flavour which the band is known for. 

We get the twanging funk of bass, a bit of sexy saxophone, and the drums, which get everything right at all the right times, no matter how technical and out of this world the music gets. And that’s just track one.

BTBAM has always had a heavy, super-technical style in their repertoire and has never shied away from experimenting. This album sounds like peak experimentation for the band, pushing the boundaries of sanity and structure. Does it work? Of course it bloody does. 

Image Credit: BTBAM / Official Website

Vocalist Tommy Rogers explains that the album “exists in a world that’s not tied to a storyline. It’s more about a feeling, where the songs live for me.”

He goes on to describe the album’s lyrical approach as “journal entries, fleeting and introspective thoughts – chaotic at times, depending on the music.”

This is a head-smashing album, drawing inspiration from the 70s, 80s, and beyond. Mixed in are some truly heavy riffs, aggression, playfulness, surrealism and occasional elements of serenity. 

The construction of BTBAM’s songs baffles me. As they switch between styles, scales and tempos, it’s incredible how these four individuals keep it all together.

I haven’t been on a listening journey like this for a while, not one that feeds into my soul the way ‘The Blue Nowhere’ does. This ten-song album is utterly outstanding.

‘The Blue Nowhere’ is out 12th September. Get prepared to have your mind melted.

You can pre-order the album at Betweentheburiedandme.com or listen to their recently released single, “Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark” via this link.

Featured Image Credit: Randy Edwards