''Automata I'' is the eighth studio album by American

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

band

Between the Buried and Me Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (lead guitar, backing ...

. It was released on March 9, 2018, through

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.Automata II ''Automata II'' is the ninth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on July 13, 2018 through Sumerian Records, and it is the second part of a two-piece album, the first one being '' Automata I'', ...

'', was released on July 13, 2018. Between the Buried and Me began recording the album on July 31, 2017, and finished on September 6, 2017, announcing it in January 2018 with 2018 tour dates set with

The Dear Hunter The Dear Hunter is an American progressive rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a member of the Receiving End of Sirens, before becoming his main band in 2006. The band's ...

and

Leprous Leprous is a Norwegian rock band from Notodden, formed in 2001. The group was founded by singer and keyboardist Einar Solberg and guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke. After releasing several demos with relatively unstable lineups, the band released th ...

. Longtime producer and collaborator Jamie King returned to produce the album. A music video for "Condemned to the Gallows" was released on January 19, 2018. On March 9, 2018, the band released the second music video from the album for the song, "Millions". The album was released later that same day.

Background

About the album, guitarist

Paul Waggoner Paul Andrew Waggoner is the lead guitarist of American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. A fan of progressive music, he is heavily inspired by John Petrucci, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth and Steve Vai, amongst others. He former ...

remarked:

Concept

''Automata'' is a concept album. According to an official press release, the album will revolve around the concept of being able to view the dreams of others, frontman Tommy Rogers commented: During an interview with ''That Drummer Guy'', he also added:

Reception

''Automata I'' received generally positive reviews from professional critics, noting the band's continued technical proficiency found in their previous albums, while some felt ambivalent of the album's significantly shorter length—drawing comparisons to their 2011 extended play, '' The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues'', which is five minutes shorter—and the band's decision to release ''Automata'' in two parts. Review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

scored the album a 70 out of 100 based on five music critics, citing "generally favorable reviews". ''The Prog Report'' praised the album, referring to the song "Blot" as a "song

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

brings all the elements which one would expect—it doesn't disappoint", comparing the track with the sound of bands like Haken and Nova Collective (bassist Dan Briggs being a member of this band). They also add that the song "shines as it has everything BTBAM has to offer at the highest level of musical performance. The ending chorus is epic; but, just when you think a conclusion is due, the abrupt ending reminds us the second part is just a few months away..." '' MetalSuckss Phil Boozeman gave the album 4 devil horns claiming "''Automata'' is also a perfect jumping-on spot for new fans, as it winds up being one of the band's easiest-to-digest releases" and that "Musically, BTBAM are already in outer space while every other metal band remains stuck on earth — and yet ''Automata'' finds the band somehow continuing to push themselves in new territory". He also added that the song "Blot" "may very well represent BTBAM's strongest work to date".

Track listing

Personnel

Between the Buried and Me

* Dan Briggs – bass * Blake Richardson – drums * Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. – vocals, keyboards *

– guitars * Dustie Waring – guitars

Additional personnel

* Jamie King –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, engineering, piano * Kris Hilbert – piano, additional drum production *

Jens Bogren Jens Peter Daniel Bogren (born 13 November 1979) is a Swedish record producer, mixer and recording engineer specializing in heavy metal music. He has worked on albums by Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Katatonia, Babym ...

– mixing and mastering * Kevin King – additional production * Cameron MacManus – trombone, baritone saxophone * Jonathan Wiseman – trumpet * Corey Meyers – art direction/layout, photography * Aaron Strelecki – photography * Andrew Strelecki – photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 albums Between the Buried and Me albums Sumerian Records albums Concept albums Albums produced by Jamie King (record producer)