Between the Buried and Me
“The Silient Circus”
Victory Records
North Carolina’s Between the Buried and Me (BTBM) is looking to make a big name for themselves nationally with the release of their Victory Records debut, “The Silent Circus.” The band’s self-titled 2002 release garnered moderate attention on the underground circuit, so much so that the band was playing shows with the likes of Poison the Well, Hatebreed and Malevolent Creation before signing with Victory. So, will “The Silent Circus” redefine people’s existing notions of “metalcore” as their band bio suggests? Well … perhaps. But new listeners will have to exercise a little patience when checking out the new album to form their own answers.
Guitarists Nick Fletcher and Paul Waggoner, drummer Mark Castillo, bassist Jason King and vocalist/keyboard player Tommy Rogers have created an interesting sound for themselves, combining hardcore melodies with death metal vocals, while at the same time being unafraid to throw in some keyboard bridges, acoustic guitar or haunting melodic singing. The caveat here is they don’t mix and match the different music styles in the songs, but develop BTBM’s sound throughout “The Silent Circus.”
The disc’s first three tracks — “Lost Perfection: a) Coulrophbia,” “b) Anablephobia” and “Camilla Rhodes” — kick the album off with an assault of death metal vocals and thundering bass riffs and drum kicks. While the music aspect reminds me of a band like Suffocation, the vocals are of the more extreme Cannibal Corpse variety. I thought this was a hardcore band(?!).
A quick break from our review. Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns, while anablephobia is defined as “a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of looking up,” which unfortunately causes millions of people needless distress every year. Glad we could all learn together. Use your newfound phobias with care. Now back to our review.
Track 4, “Mordecai,” is when the band finally breaks free of its death metal sound. The album kicks off with death metal vocals alternating with extreme hardcore screaming. The song still sounds the same as the preceding three, but the band throws in some start/stop riffing that causes you to sit up and take notice. Mid-way through the song the intricate guitar chords give way to a mellow bridge with Rogers’ wrought vocals shining through. It’s like a breath of fresh air. Suddenly the “bridge” flourishes and the song immediately turns into something of an opus. THIS song is the reason to check out BTBM. It sounds nothing like what precedes it and really makes the band stand out from its contemporaries.
“Mordecai” gives way to “Reaction,” which opens with Rogers on keyboards (the first time keyboards show up on the album). But “Reaction” seems to just be a bridge to “(Shevanel Take 2),” which can basically be boiled down to an acoustic track. Minimal drumming with alternating acoustic and electric guitar, complete with ballad-ly vocals. How can this be the same band that started off the album?
It’s at this point I realize why BTBM were on tour with Poison the Well, as the layout of the tracks on this album remind me of Poison the Well’s “Tear From the Red,” except more extreme on the metal end, and more mellow on the softer tracks.
Track 7, “Ad a dglgmut,” is a whiplash back to the death metal vocals at first, but soon gives way again to the more mellow singing and rhythmic underscores. Clocking in at over seven minutes, it’s the longest song on the album — a journey from BTBM’s darkest, angriest sound, to one of its softest moments (with lyrics like “It all makes sense, we are capable of beauty.”) and then back to the full-on metal dirge.
“Destructo Spin,” “Aesthetic” and “The Need for Repetition” round out the disc. “Repetition” features a really interesting guitar sound that seems thick and heavy and adds interesting dimension to the vocals and is a great closer to the album. (Note: there is a hidden track tacked onto the end of “The Silent Circus” about 11 minutes into the last track.)
From the driving bass on a track like “Aesthetic” to the great guitar interplay “(Shevanel Take 2)” and intense extremes of the vocals, BTBM have created a unique disc. They�ve managed to bridge the huge gaps between the different sounds they attempt effortlessly, yet I wonder if the gap was too big to attempt to bridge. The band will hit the road in for a North American tour in 2004.
