I love Heavy Metal. But the misguided wizardry of Prog Metal doesn’t always work for me. In many cases it is little more than a sort of enlightened wankery. Just because you can cram all those speedy little gnat-notes into every measure doesn’t necessarily mean you should. And that’s really always been the case with a lot of Speed Metal’s spin offs. Prog Metal walks an especially thin line, trying to balance the advanced musicianship of Progressive Rock with Heavy Metal’s pounding rhythms and crushing volume.
I can’t resist the irony of a band that wants to insert their Heavy Concept into your thoughts with hopes that you’ll bang your head while you contemplate it. And I’m always pleasantly surprised when I hear a Prog Metal band pull off something that is equal parts headbanging intensity and cerebral storytelling. It’s an elusive, risky and caustic combination, but Between The Buried And Me have captured lightning in a bottle with their brilliant new CD release, The Parallax II: Future Sequence.
The spacey synth intro of “Autumn” segues smoothly into the 10-minute horror show rollercoaster “Extremophile Elite”, its brutal riffage twisting and turning through bizarre time changes, slippery guitar solos weaving and coiling over machine gun drumming, the obligatory Cookie Monster vocals growling indecipherably over top of it all until the whole undulating cacophony gives way to an unexpected interlude comprised of loopy xylophone, bouncing tuba, and a ghostly string quartet before the wicked Metal storm whips up again for five more minutes of ear bludgeoning. Obviously this stuff ain’t for everybody. But this track alone is a remarkably ambitious musical feat.
The album is maddening, hilarious and terrifyingly over the top with its unpredictable arrangements and individual performances of ferocious conviction. Occasionally the album’s maniacal menace subsides into mellow interludes, like the grind and pound of “Lay Your Ghosts To Rest” that suddenly slows to a sinister crawling waltz. It is these wildly fluctuating dynamic shifts that make the record rumble and roar like a Heavy Metal funhouse.
While the stark contrast of piano interludes, melodic vocals and spoken word segues grease the narrative momentum, there remains throughout the record an ever-present threat that the deafening growl of thunder can and will erupt again with explosive orchestral flourishes of violent intensity. Some of the more unusual segments are comical in their placement, content and duration, sounding at times like the spirit of Frank Zappa trying to burst through the frayed and crusty denim of Napalm Death.
Release date: October 9, 2012.
Here’s a promo clip of “Telos” from the new album:
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