BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME

They were never an easy fit, even for the few genres that would gladly have them. BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME have been a constant breath of fresh air over the last 25 years. A prog band with roots in the metalcore scene, the North Carolinians have always been more interested in making interesting, adventurous music than they ever were in placating a particular fan base, and so with each successive trip to the studio, they have become more and more distinctive and self-sufficient. Unlike many of those who operate in the rarified progressive metal realm, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME are perpetually addicted to real progress.

And so to "The Blue Nowhere", the follow-up to the glorious "Colors II" and the band's first album recorded as a quartet, following the ignominious departure of long-time rhythm guitarist Dustie Waring. Neither a concept album nor a blatant nod to any previous record, the band's 11th full-length offering aims to turn over a new musical leaf or two, while also garnering more of the critical and fan-driven acclaim that has followed nearly every release in their impressive catalogue.

Very much at home on new label InsideOut, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME are edging closer to the holy grail of being simply regarded as one of modern era's truly great progressive bands. If "The Blue Nowhere" resembles anything, at least in terms of significance, it is the creative breakthrough of "Coma Ecliptic" from a decade ago. That album took a bold step into more melodic and, whisper it, mature songwriting, but also retained all of the madness and mischief that had made earlier albums so addictive. This time around, there are fewer bridges to cross, and BTBAM require no introduction to anyone who cares about this kind of music. But the desire to fashion a piece of work that stands alone and forges real connections on a thematic and emotional level is obvious and laudable. Brimming with great ideas, as always, "The Blue Nowhere" makes the now hackneyed cliché of the album as some kind of nourishing journey seem credible again.

Hop on to the magic carpet, kick back and relax. Recently released as a "single", whatever that means these days, "Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark" is a joyous example of where BTBAM are in 2025. Lithely funky and graced with vocals from frontman Tommy Rogers that gleam with class and refined pop-adjacent sensibilities, its ultra-modern prog metal momentum is irresistible, its tangents and detours executed with masterful flair. The interplay between bassist Dan Briggs, guitarist Paul Waggoner and drummer Blake Richardson is seamless, intuitive and as dazzling as the sun's rays. As catchy as an eight-minute epic is ever likely to be, it is one of the most immediately lovable songs the band have ever recorded. Heavy when it wants to be, but never dependent on that side of their sound, it places BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME at a sweet spot between classic prog metal bluster and more cerebral, left-field explorations. It rules.

The rest of the album rules, too. Full of askance observations on the state of things, states of mind, and the vexed conversations that go on between them, "The Blue Nowhere" is almost bloated with elaborate epics, but each one contains so many moments of incisive melody and uproarious invention that the sum of those parts flows like an authentic slice of 21st century life. "God Terror" is belligerent and gnarly, but never predictable; "Absent Thereafter" beings as a swirling maelstrom of fusion-fluid, artful extremity, before its jagged riffs give way to a miniature rollercoaster of mutant blues guitar and euphoric, country / surf rock; "Door #3" is half death metal meltdown, half noirish prog with miraculous vocal harmonies; and both "Psychomanteum" and "Slow Paranoia" are 11-minute exercises in madness, with so many twists, turns and dynamic surprises that describing them in a single, pithy sentence is beyond pointless.

The last two tracks are perhaps the finest examples of how far BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME have come since seminal third album "Alaska" (2005) permanently altered the metal landscape. A relative tiddler at only six minutes, the title track is just beautiful. From a sonorous, disarming instrumental intro, to its mellifluous core of picturesque prog rock grace, it is utterly charming, and Tommy Rogers deserves some sort of award for his gorgeously sophisticated vocals. Even better, the closing "Beautifully Human" takes a slow, subtle descent to this album's ultimate destination, with Waggoner's exquisite acoustic guitar work softening the landing, and a miraculous ensemble performance tying up the loose ends with big rock riffs, bittersweet melodies, electronic trimmings and gallons of grandiloquence colliding in the most effortlessly sophisticated manner possible. As with the album as a whole, all human life is here in the visceral power of BTBAM as an unusually creative metal band, and in the no-fucks-given weaving of a hundred perfectly formed ideas into their hard-earned tapestry of capricious invention. Above all, "The Blue Nowhere" proclaims this band's absolute joy at the entire process of making music, reinforcing the notion that after 25 years of doing it, they are as unique and cherishable as it gets.