Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an 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 from
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
. Formed in 2000, the band consists of
Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards),
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 ...
(lead guitar, backing vocals), Dustie Waring (rhythm guitar, lead guitar),
Dan Briggs (bass, keyboards), and
Blake Richardson (drums).
Their
debut eponymous album was released through
Lifeforce Records
Lifeforce Records is a German heavy metal independent record label that specializes in metalcore and death metal. Their roster contains bands such as Confession, This or the Apocalypse, Omnium Gatherum and Last Leaf Down, and they have helped t ...
in 2002, shifting to
Victory Records
Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thur ...
for subsequent releases until their signing to
Metal Blade
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distri ...
in 2011, where Between the Buried and Me released their first
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. , ''
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues'' that year, and its full-length follow-up ''
The Parallax II: Future Sequence'' the following year. Their seventh studio album, ''
Coma Ecliptic
''Coma Ecliptic'' is the seventh studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me, released on July 10, 2015 through Metal Blade Records. The band first announced the album through Twitter on September 8, 2014 saying "It h ...
'', was released in July 2015. Their eighth album ''
Automata I
''Automata I'' is the eighth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on March 9, 2018, through Sumerian Records, their first release with the label. It is the first part of a two-piece album; the ...
'' was released in March 2018, and their ninth album, ''
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 in July 2018. Their tenth album, ''
Colors II
''Colors II'' is the tenth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on August 20, 2021 through Sumerian Records, their second release with the label, after the two-part album ''Automata I'' and A ...
'' (a follow up to 2007's
''Colors''), was released in August 2021.
History
Formation and eponymous album (2000–2002)
The band was formed in 2000 in
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
after the demise of the metalcore bands From Here On and
Prayer for Cleansing, of which Rogers, Waggoner, and Goodyear were members. Nick Fletcher and Jason King subsequently joined on guitar and bass respectively. The name "Between the Buried and Me" was chosen after a section of lyrics in the
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist M ...
song "
Ghost Train
In ghostlore, a ghost train is a phantom vehicle in the form of a locomotive or train. The ghost train differs from other traditional forms of haunting in that rather than being a static location where ghosts are claimed to be present, "the appar ...
".
Between the Buried and Me's first release was a demo containing three songs, all of which were re-recorded for the band's
self-titled debut album, released through
Lifeforce Records
Lifeforce Records is a German heavy metal independent record label that specializes in metalcore and death metal. Their roster contains bands such as Confession, This or the Apocalypse, Omnium Gatherum and Last Leaf Down, and they have helped t ...
in 2002. The song "Aspirations" became the band's first music video. The album was not initially successful but did manage to catch the attention of
Victory Records
Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thur ...
, to which they later signed. Victory reissued the album in 2004 as an
enhanced CD. The band toured in support of their first album with Canadian metalcore group The End.
''The Silent Circus'', ''Alaska'', and ''The Anatomy Of'' (2003–2006)
In August 2003, Between the Buried and Me traveled to
Q Division Studios
Q Division Studios is a recording studio located in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1986, Q Division was originally located at 443 Albany Street in Boston, but moved to its current two-studio facility in 2000. Bands that have ...
in
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
to record their second record, ''
The Silent Circus
''The Silent Circus'' is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. Released October 21, 2003, through Victory Records. It was their first album to be released through Victory Records after their departu ...
'', released in October the same year. It was later re-released in 2006 with a live DVD of the band's performance at The Cat's Cradle in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state ca ...
on July 17, 2005. Mark Castillo played drums on ''The Silent Circus'', replacing Goodyear.
After the release of ''The Silent Circus'', the band went through numerous members before the current lineup was assembled for their third album, ''
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
''. On drums,
Mark Castillo
Mark Edward Castillo, (born October 10, 1980) is an American musician. He is a former drummer of the deathcore band Emmure, a former drummer of the hard rock band Crossfade, a former drummer of the progressive metal band Between the Buried and ...
was replaced by Jason Roe, and later by
Blake Richardson. On guitar, Fletcher was replaced by
Shane Blay
Shane Blay is an American guitarist and vocalist that performs primarily metalcore. He has performed with bands such as Oh, Sleeper, Between the Buried and Me, and Wovenwar.
Background
Blay started his musical career in the late 1990s/early 20 ...
, and later by Dustie Waring. And on bass, King was replaced by Kevin Falk, and later by
Dan Briggs. This remains the current lineup.
In September 2005, Between the Buried and Me released ''Alaska''. The album released the songs "Selkies: The Endless Obsession", "The Primer", and "Backwards Marathon" as singles. In the following year, the band released their first cover album, ''
The Anatomy Of'', a collection of covers of bands that influenced them, including
Metallica,
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
,
Pantera,
Faith No More,
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
Earth Crisis
Earth Crisis is an American hardcore punk band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Since 1993 the band's longest serving members are vocalist Karl Buechner, lead guitarist Scott Crouse, bassist Ian Edward ...
,
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist M ...
, and
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...
.
In early 2006, Between the Buried and Me was on tour supporting
Bleeding Through along with
Every Time I Die
Every Time I Die was an American metalcore band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1998. For most of the band's career, the line-up was centred on brothers Keith (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), as well as rhythm guitarist Andy Williams wit ...
and
Haste the Day
Haste the Day was an American metalcore band formed in Carmel, Indiana in 2001 and signed to Solid State Records. Their name is derived from a lyric in the hymn " It Is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford. The band released an EP titled '' T ...
. They were also on the
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...
2006 Second Stage. In late 2006, they were on the Radio Rebellion Tour headlined by
Norma Jean.
''Colors'' and ''The Great Misdirect'' (2007–2009)
In September 2007, Between the Buried and Me released their fourth studio album (fifth if including ''The Anatomy Of''), ''
Colors
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
''. Band members called it "a 65 minute opus of non stop pummeling beautiful music... we have described this release as '
new wave polka grunge'." The band also described the album as "
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
progressive
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
".
In September 2007, after the release of ''
Colors
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
'', the band went on tour with
Animosity
Animosity may refer to:
* ''Animosity'' (comic), an American comic book series published by AfterShock Comics
*Animosity (band)
Animosity was an American death metal band from San Francisco, California, formed in 2000. The band released three ...
and
Horse the Band
Horse the Band (stylized as HORSE the band) is an American metalcore band from Lake Forest, California, who are best known for their 8-bit video game-influenced sound combined with metalcore. Frontman Nathan Winneke once jokingly described thei ...
. Giant (now known as BraveYoung) also supported their shows in the US. The run concluded with their November 4 appearance at the Saints and Sinners Fest in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In December 2007, they again embarked on a headlining tour, supported by
August Burns Red
August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of lead guitarist John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker, rhythm guitarist Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist ...
and
Behold... The Arctopus. The band were also the main support on
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time si ...
's 2008 UK tour. Between the Buried and Me were one of the acts that took part at "Progressive Nation '08", the first in what became an annual
progressive music
Progressive music is music that attempts to expand existing stylistic boundaries associated with specific genres of music. The word comes from the basic concept of "progress", which refers to advancements through accumulation, and is often de ...
festival, also featuring
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
,
Opeth, and
3.
Starting in summer 2008 and continuing in the fall, they performed as a supporting act for
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sepp ...
's US headlining tour, alongside
The Black Dahlia Murder. In early December 2008, they went on a short four-show tour around the Carolinas and Georgia (US) with other bands from the Carolinas, such as
He Is Legend
He Is Legend is an American hard rock/ heavy metal band from Wilmington, North Carolina, formed in the late 1990s but settled on the name "He Is Legend" in 2003. According to the aggregate of the listeners, He Is Legend's music is similar to th ...
,
Advent, and Nightbear. Between the Buried and Me finished a month-long tour of Australia on January 9 with headliners
Bleeding Through,
As Blood Runs Black
As Blood Runs Black is an American metalcore/deathcore band from Los Angeles, California. They have released three albums. Their first album, ''Allegiance'', was released on June 6, 2006. Their second album, ''Instinct'', was released on March 15 ...
, In Trenches, and
The Abandonment
''The Abandonment'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Donald MacDonald starring Helene Rosson, Forrest Taylor and Harry von Meter. The feature-length film was produced at Mutual's studios in Santa Barbara, California. It was pa ...
. In September 2009, Between the Buried and Me performed a Canadian Tour with
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel an ...
and
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal.
During t ...
co-headlining, along with the support of
Protest the Hero.
On May 31, 2009, the group went into the studio to record their fifth album (sixth if including ''The Anatomy Of''), ''
The Great Misdirect
''The Great Misdirect'' is the fifth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on October 27, 2009 through Victory Records and was produced by Jamie King. Despite containing only six tracks, the al ...
''. They released the single "
Obfuscation" on September 29 and the album on October 27.
''The Parallax'' and Metal Blade Records (2010–2014)
In February 2010, Between the Buried and Me supported
Mastodon
A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
along with
Baroness
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
on their US headlining tour. During the summer of 2010, they were on the Cool Tour with
As I Lay Dying
''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...
,
Underoath
Underoath (stylized as Underøath or UnderOath) is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton on November 30, 1997, in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional memb ...
,
War of Ages
War of Ages (sometimes abbreviated WoA; formerly known as Point Zero) is an American Christian metal band formed in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2002.
The band's self-titled debut album '' War of Ages'' was released in 2005, and in February 2006, th ...
,
The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain is an American metalcore band originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts. They are currently signed to Rise Records. The band has released ten full-length albums.
History
Forming in 2001, The Acacia Strain was started by h ...
,
Architects
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
,
Cancer Bats
Cancer Bats is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario. To date, they have released seven studio albums and six extended plays; with their most recent LP, ''Psychic Jailbreak'', having been released on 15 April 2022. The band is curr ...
, and
Blessthefall
Blessthefall (stylized as blessthefall or BLESSTHEFALL prior to 2013) was an American metalcore band from Phoenix, Arizona, signed to Rise Records. The band was founded in 2004 by guitarist Mike Frisby, drummer Matt Traynor, and bassist and ...
.
In early 2010, Between the Buried and Me toured across North America with
Cynic,
Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...
, and
Scale the Summit
Scale the Summit is an American instrumental progressive metal band based out of Houston, Texas. It formed in 2004 and signed to Prosthetic Records.
The band is influenced by other progressive acts such as Cynic and Dream Theater. The band gain ...
. Afterwards, they traveled to Europe supporting
Lamb of God, along with
Job for a Cowboy and
August Burns Red
August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of lead guitarist John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker, rhythm guitarist Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist ...
.
In February 2011, Between the Buried and Me were confirmed to play at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival on Saturday, April 16 in Worcester, MA. They were main support for
Hatebreed
Hatebreed is an American hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album '' Satisfaction is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records ...
. In April and May 2011 they headlined a tour featuring Job for a Cowboy,
The Ocean, and on select dates
Cephalic Carnage
Cephalic Carnage is an American death metal band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1992. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Cephalic Carnage has re ...
.
Between the Buried and Me stated their move from Victory to
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distr ...
and quickly released an EP entitled ''
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues'' on April 12, 2011. In May,
Victory Records
Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thur ...
announced the release of a
greatest hits album
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
as a three-disc set. On January 16, 2012, Between the Buried and Me revealed that work on the full-length second part to ''The Parallax'' had begun and was later released as ''
The Parallax II: Future Sequence'' on October 9, 2012.
Between the Buried and Me also announced a headlining European tour beginning in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
on September 2, 2011, and continuing throughout the mainland and into the UK, ending up in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
on September 30. The tour was supported by
Animals as Leaders
Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Washington, D.C. It currently consists of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, having been formed by Abasi in 2007. They are a prominent b ...
. In July 2011, the band announced their headlining North American "Saints&Sinners Tour" playing throughout November and December with
Animals as Leaders
Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Washington, D.C. It currently consists of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, having been formed by Abasi in 2007. They are a prominent b ...
and
TesseracT
In geometry, a tesseract is the four-dimensional analogue of the cube; the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of six square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of eig ...
. The band created a few medleys just for this tour, and performed songs that they hadn't played in years. They co-headlined the 2012
Summer Slaughter
The Summer Slaughter Tour is an annual heavy metal music tour held every year since 2007. It originated in North America in 2007 and has toured in Canada in 2008, Europe in 2008, and Australia and New Zealand in 2009. Billed as "The Most Extreme ...
under
Cannibal Corpse with numerous other metal bands such as
Exhumed,
Job for a Cowboy,
The Faceless
The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, ''Akeldama'', in November 2006, and a follow-up, ''Planetary Duality'', in November 2008. The band's third a ...
, and
Veil of Maya
Veil of Maya is an American metalcore band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, by members Marc Okubo and Sam Applebaum in 2004. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released six studio albums. Their first four albums are considered ...
, followed by a co-headlining tour through Europe and UK with
Periphery
Periphery or peripheral may refer to:
Music
*Periphery (band), American progressive metal band
* ''Periphery'' (album), released in 2010 by Periphery
* "Periphery", a song from Fiona Apple's album '' The Idler Wheel...''
Gaming and entertainm ...
and
The Safety Fire
The Safety Fire were a British progressive metal band formed in London, England, in 2006. The Safety Fire first made a name for themselves in the UK scene with the release of their critically acclaimed EP "Sections" in 2009 and their reputation ...
.
They also toured Japan and Australia with
Animals as Leaders
Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Washington, D.C. It currently consists of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, having been formed by Abasi in 2007. They are a prominent b ...
in November 2012.
Starting in February 2013, they toured with
Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), ...
.
In fall 2013 they embarked on The Future Sequence Tour, where they played ''The Parallax II: Future Sequence'' all the way through. Support was provided by
The Faceless
The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, ''Akeldama'', in November 2006, and a follow-up, ''Planetary Duality'', in November 2008. The band's third a ...
,
The Contortionist
The Contortionist is an American progressive metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Formed in 2007, the band consists of guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard, drummer Joey Baca, vocalist Mike Lessard, bassist Jordan Eberhardt, and keyboard ...
, and
The Safety Fire
The Safety Fire were a British progressive metal band formed in London, England, in 2006. The Safety Fire first made a name for themselves in the UK scene with the release of their critically acclaimed EP "Sections" in 2009 and their reputation ...
.
On February 14, 2014, it was announced Between the Buried and Me would record and release a live album for ''The Parallax II: Future Sequence'', playing it in its entirety with additional instruments, including a saxophone, percussionists, flute, and a string quartet. The release, titled ''Future Sequence: Live at the Fidelitorium'', was released September 30, 2014.
''Coma Ecliptic'' and ''Colors 10th Anniversary Tour'' (2015–2017)
On March 17, 2015, they announced that ''
Coma Ecliptic
''Coma Ecliptic'' is the seventh studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me, released on July 10, 2015 through Metal Blade Records. The band first announced the album through Twitter on September 8, 2014 saying "It h ...
'' will be released through Metal Blade Records on July 7, 2015, and released a song titled "Memory Palace" on July 10.
From 2015 - 2017, Between the Buried and Me went out on their ''Coma Ecliptic World Tour'' and headlined with / co-headlined for August Burns Red, Animals as Leaders, Devin Townsend Project,
Fallujah,
Enslaved, and
The Contortionist
The Contortionist is an American progressive metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Formed in 2007, the band consists of guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard, drummer Joey Baca, vocalist Mike Lessard, bassist Jordan Eberhardt, and keyboard ...
.
The band released "Coma Ecliptic: Live" on April 28, 2017, which has their entire ''Coma Ecliptic'' album played live in its entirety.
In the fall of 2017, Between the Buried and Me toured for the ''Colors 10th Anniversary Tour'' where they performed the whole album.
''Automata'' and Sumerian Records (2018–2019)
![BTBAM2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/BTBAM2018.jpg)
Recording of the band's upcoming eighth full-length album began on July 31, 2017 and finished on September 6, with the release date scheduled in early 2018.
On December 28, 2017, bassist Dan Briggs posted footage of a song they had finished recording separate from the eighth studio album completed in September 2017. It was later revealed to be their interpretation of
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 s ...
's track "The Tank" for an exclusive 7-inch split with the band.
In January 2018, the band announced ''Automata'', a two-part studio album. ''
Automata I
''Automata I'' is the eighth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on March 9, 2018, through Sumerian Records, their first release with the label. It is the first part of a two-piece album; the ...
'' was announced a release date of March 9, 2018, via
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.
Their "Between the Buried and Me Spring 2018 Tour" was announced as well, spanning March 2 to April 7, 2018, across the contiguous United States. The tour would be supported by
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 s ...
with special guests
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 ...
. Additionally, it was announced on the
Thomas Giles Instagram how their exclusive split 7-inch single with The Dear Hunter would be available for VIP package buyers on the tour. The split 7-inch would contain each band recording their interpretation of an existing song from the other band.
The band then headlined the entire 2018 portion of the Summer Slaughter tour. They were joined up with bands such as
Born of Osiris,
Veil of Maya
Veil of Maya is an American metalcore band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, by members Marc Okubo and Sam Applebaum in 2004. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released six studio albums. Their first four albums are considered ...
,
ERRA Erra can refer to:
* Erra (god), a Babylonian god
* Erra, Estonia, a settlement in Sonda Parish, Ida-Viru County, Estonia
* Erra, the purported home planet of the pleiadean aliens described by ufologist Billy Meier
* Pizzo Erra, a mountain in Switz ...
,
The Agony Scene
The Agony Scene is an American heavy metal band from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Formed in 2000, the group currently consists of lead guitarist Chris Emmons, vocalist Mike Williams, and rhythm guitarist Brian Hodges.
The band has released four albums, o ...
,
Allegaeon
Allegaeon is an American extreme metal band from Fort Collins, Colorado, formed in 2008. They have released one EP and six studio albums.
History
Allegaeon was formed in 2007. They initially played small shows, at bars and houses in and arou ...
,
Terror Universal
Terror Universal is an American heavy metal supergroup consisting of current and former members of Soulfly, Upon a Burning Body and Ill Nino. Their first single, "Welcome to Hell", comes from their debut EP, ''Reign of Terror''. The EP was rele ...
,
Soreption
Soreption is a technical death metal band from Sundsvall, Västernorrlands län, Sweden. Formed in 2005, they are best known for their fast melodies and sharp,
groovy riffs. In 2013, Soreption was chosen among a list of acts selected to perform a ...
, and
Entheos
Entheos is an American progressive metal super-group formed in 2015 by ex-members of Animosity (band), Animosity. Including that some of the members were part of well known groups such as Animals as Leaders, The Faceless. They released their deb ...
.
In early 2019, they toured ''
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'', ...
'' in the US beginning in February and ending in March. Opening acts were
Astronoid
Astronoid is a post-metal band from Lowell, Massachusetts, formed in 2012. Started by vocalist Brett Boland and bassist Daniel Schwartz, the current lineup includes Boland, Schwartz, guitarist Casey Aylward, and drummer Matt St. Jean. They have re ...
and
TesseracT
In geometry, a tesseract is the four-dimensional analogue of the cube; the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of six square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of eig ...
, except for a few dates.
Postponed 20th anniversary tour and ''Colors II'' (2020–present)
In spring 2020, the band was set to headline a 20th anniversary tour across North America, with the first set composed of songs spanning their career and the second set being ''The Great Misdirect'' performed in its entirety. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the band postponed the tour until it was safe to tour again. The tour was rebranded as a 21st anniversary tour in 2021 and kicked off in Atlanta on August 3 of that year.
The band revealed on November 16, 2020, that they have been writing their upcoming tenth studio album and are recording it for a scheduled release sometime in 2021.
On June 24, 2021, the band announced the release of their new album ''
Colors II
''Colors II'' is the tenth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on August 20, 2021 through Sumerian Records, their second release with the label, after the two-part album ''Automata I'' and A ...
'' (follow-up to 2007's
''Colors'') through SiriusXM's Liquid Metal channel. The album was released on August 20, 2021. The album's first single, "Fix the Error", was released online on June 25, 2021, along with a music video on July 7.
Musical style and influences
Between the Buried and Me's general musical style has been stated by critics to be primarily a blend of
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 ...
,
technical death metal
Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting.
Techni ...
,
progressive metalcore
Progressive metalcore (also called technical metalcore or ambient metalcore) is a fusion of progressive metal and metalcore characterized by highly technical lead guitar, "atmospheric" elements, and complex instrumentation. Some notable pract ...
,
avant-garde metal
Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...
, and
metalcore along with various musical styles: "One minute the band may be playing
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
and the next they're flowing into
death metal growls and thick guitar riffs... the metal take on things can seemingly change in a flash as lead singer Tommy Rogers fleshes out his vocals and utilizes the keyboards to create something that sounds more like it should be on a
Smashing Pumpkins
Smash may refer to:
People
* Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler
* Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above.
* DJ Smash, DJ and music producer
Ar ...
album".
On the band's cover album, ''
The Anatomy Of'', the band pays tribute to many of their diverse influences, including
Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
,
Metallica,
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles by five musicians: three from Mississippi, one from Pennsylvania and one from Indiana. The band currently consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer ...
,
Mötley Crüe,
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
,
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...
,
Faith No More,
Pantera,
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
,
Earth Crisis
Earth Crisis is an American hardcore punk band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Since 1993 the band's longest serving members are vocalist Karl Buechner, lead guitarist Scott Crouse, bassist Ian Edward ...
, and
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...
.
Band members
Current members
*
Tommy Giles Rogers – lead vocals, keyboards
(2000–present)
*
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 ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals, additional lead vocals
(2000–present)
* Dustie Waring – rhythm guitar, additional lead guitar
(2005–present)
*
Dan Briggs – bass
(2005–present), keyboards
(2011–present), backing vocals
(2005–2008)
*
Blake Richardson – drums
(2005–present) backing vocals, additional lead vocals
(2018–present)
Former members
* Jason Schofield King – bass
(2000–2004)
* Will Goodyear – drums, clean vocals
(2000–2002)
* Marc Duncan – rhythm guitar
(2000)
* Nicholas Shawn Fletcher – rhythm guitar
(2000–2003)
* Michael Howard Reig – drums
(2002–2003)
*
Mark Castillo
Mark Edward Castillo, (born October 10, 1980) is an American musician. He is a former drummer of the deathcore band Emmure, a former drummer of the hard rock band Crossfade, a former drummer of the progressive metal band Between the Buried and ...
– drums
(2003–2004)
*
Shane Blay
Shane Blay is an American guitarist and vocalist that performs primarily metalcore. He has performed with bands such as Oh, Sleeper, Between the Buried and Me, and Wovenwar.
Background
Blay started his musical career in the late 1990s/early 20 ...
– rhythm guitar
(2004)
* Jason Roe – drums
(2004-2005)
* Kevin Falk – bass
(2004–2005)
Timeline
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''
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 ...
'' (2002)
* ''
The Silent Circus
''The Silent Circus'' is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. Released October 21, 2003, through Victory Records. It was their first album to be released through Victory Records after their departu ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Colors
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
'' (2007)
* ''
The Great Misdirect
''The Great Misdirect'' is the fifth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on October 27, 2009 through Victory Records and was produced by Jamie King. Despite containing only six tracks, the al ...
'' (2009)
* ''
The Parallax II: Future Sequence'' (2012)
* ''
Coma Ecliptic
''Coma Ecliptic'' is the seventh studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me, released on July 10, 2015 through Metal Blade Records. The band first announced the album through Twitter on September 8, 2014 saying "It h ...
'' (2015)
* ''
Automata I
''Automata I'' is the eighth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on March 9, 2018, through Sumerian Records, their first release with the label. It is the first part of a two-piece album; the ...
'' (2018)
* ''
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'', ...
'' (2018)
* ''
Colors II
''Colors II'' is the tenth studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on August 20, 2021 through Sumerian Records, their second release with the label, after the two-part album ''Automata I'' and A ...
'' (2021)
;Other
* ''
The Anatomy Of'' (cover album, 2006)
* ''
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues'' (EP, 2011)
Other projects
* Tommy Giles Rogers has an
electronica side project named Giles. A music video for the song "Slumber Party" is featured on the DVD that is included on the re-release for Between the Buried and Me's second album ''
The Silent Circus
''The Silent Circus'' is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. Released October 21, 2003, through Victory Records. It was their first album to be released through Victory Records after their departu ...
''. Rogers also released a solo album on February 1, 2011, entitled
''Pulse''. The album is credited under the name Thomas Giles. Also, under the name Thomas Giles, he released "Modern Noise" in November 2014 and "Velcro Kid" in November 2016. In 2018 he released the album ''Don't Touch the Outside''.
* Dustie Waring and Blake Richardson are members of the
deathcore
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with me ...
band
Glass Casket.
* Rogers and Jacob Troth run a clothing line named Jacob Rogers.
* Dan Briggs and members of
Fear Before and
Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams (born c. 1681, date of death unknown) was an 11- or 12-year-old girl who, along with nine-year-old Betty Parris, was among the first of the children to falsely accuse their neighbors of witchcraft in 1692; these accusations eve ...
are members of an experimental
supergroup named
Orbs.
* Shane Blay is now in the bands
Oh, Sleeper
Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas that formed in 2006 with former members of Terminal. In over a decade's span, Oh, Sleeper has released four full-length albums, two EPs, and toured worldwide as an opening act. Af ...
and
Wovenwar
Wovenwar is an American metal band from Southern California, formed in 2013. They released their self-titled debut album in 2014. The band's musical style on the album has been described as hard rock, alternative metal, melodic metalcore and ...
and was formerly in the band Evelynn.
* Dan Briggs, along with Walter Fancourt (Casual Curious, Brand New Life) and Matt Lynch (Eyris) are members of a progressive rock/jazz fusion band named Trioscapes who are also signed under
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distr ...
. As of 2020, they have released two albums. In 2012 they released their debut album ''Separate Realities'', followed by ''Digital Dream Sequence'' in 2014.
* Dan Briggs, along with Richard Henshall (
Haken), Matt Lynch, and Pete Jones, are in a supergroup, Nova Collective, which has released one instrumental jazz fusion album, ''The Further Side''.
* Dan Briggs has an experimental solo project called Nightmare Scenario and released his debut EP ''Beyond What Is Real'' in 2019.
* Jason Roe is now in
Society's Finest and formerly was in Evelynn.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Heavy metal musical groups from North Carolina
American progressive metal musical groups
Metalcore musical groups from North Carolina
American mathcore musical groups
American death metal musical groups
American technical death metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 2000
Victory Records artists
Metal Blade Records artists
Sumerian Records artists
Musical quintets
Musical groups from North Carolina
Musical groups from Raleigh, North Carolina