Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect - 4.5/5
Link
I came in as a HUGE fan of the band, having traveled in many different directions in previous, their latest release would prove no different. Although it still fits the description of Progressive Metalcore it has taken a definite heavier style than that of “Colors”, but more in the direction of “Alaska”.
The band not only displays this heaviness in the guitar riffs and overall atmosphere, but the bass and drums often add to this as well. The drummer, Blake Richardson, displays his extreme talent multiple times with fast paced solos and fills, as well as making excellent choices on the selection of notes making the atmospheric transition from dark to a brighter one in a second. Now, the bassist of this band, Dan Briggs, who also has extreme talent, unlike the usual situation of plucking along to the guitars in the background, often complements this with his own melodies, almost as stand out as the guitar at some points.
The vocalist, Tommy Rogers (who also plays the keyboards for the band), are comprised of about 90% of the album heavy vocals and the rest sung cleanly, and whilst many find his more aggressive tone irritating, I find them excellent and a perfect fit to the band’s sound for they yet still add the heaviness displayed throughout the album. The few times he displays clean vocals, I realize he has quite a mellow voice and he could definitely do well with a progressive rock band, mostly performed during the choruses of the song, he comes up with quite beautiful melodies often followed with a backup voice to add more of a “spacey” effect. The keyboards for the band are barely ever displayed although there is a quite lengthy keyboard solo in “Swim to the Moon”.
And lastly I step into the subject of the guitarist Paul Waggoner, although many may not prefer his style of playing a fast mixture of notes and amazing technicality during some parts of the song, none can deny that he is a very skilled guitarist, and for those times when he switches time signatures throughout the song, he always finds the most suitable riff to go along with it.
Highlights: Obfuscation and Swim to The Moon
Comments