''Between the Buried and Me'' is the debut studio album by American

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

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 produced by Jamie King and was released on April 30, 2002 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 ...

Background

Between the Buried and Me formed in 2000 in

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 ...

after the demise of

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

bands From Here On and Prayer for Cleansing, which Rogers, Waggoner, and Goodyear had been members of. Guitarist Nick Fletcher and bassist Jason King would subsequently join the band. In 2001, the band would record a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

featuring the songs "What We Have Become", "More of Myself to Kill" and "The Use of a Weapon"; these three songs would be re-recorded for ''Between the Buried and Me''. After the demo's release, the band would be signed to

About

The songs on the album demonstrate numerous concepts—one of which, the song "Arsonist", was written about their strong feelings against the

Westboro Baptist Church The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a small American, unaffiliated Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. Labeled a hate group, WBC is known for engaging in homophobic and anti-American pickets, ...

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

, which has become well known as a controversial religious organization and

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. The song "Fire for a Dry Mouth" was written about a former friend of the band. A music video was released for the song "Aspirations" and was directed by Ian Larson. This is the band's only studio album with drummer / clean vocalist Will Goodyear. The album was re-released in 2004 by the band's then current label,

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 ...

. This version was released as a

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featuring the music videos for "Aspirations" and "Mordecai". The release also came with a sampler CD featuring songs by other bands that were signed to Victory at the time. A remixed and remastered version of the album was released in 2020 alongside remixed and remastered versions of ''

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 ...

'', ''

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., ...

'', and ''

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''. The remixed and remastered version was released digitally and on vinyl through Craft Recordings.

Track listing

Personnel

;Between the Buried and Me * Tommy Giles Rogers – lead vocals *

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, rhythm guitar, backing vocals *Nick Fletcher – rhythm guitar *Jason King – bass guitar *Will Goodyear – drums, clean vocals, layout, design ;Production *Jamie King – production, engineering, editing, mixing *David Stith – layout, design *Alan Douches – mastering *Allison Mannerino – photography

References

{{Authority control Between the Buried and Me albums 2002 debut albums Lifeforce Records albums Albums produced by Jamie King (record producer)