Between the Buried and Me

Between the Buried and Me – Automata I Review

By Huck N Roll on March 22, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sumerian Records, Progressive Metal, 126 comments

“We here at Angry Metal Guy have a fraught relationship with Between the Buried and Me. Some of us — we’ll call these apes Team Kronos —despise their lack of cohesion, and their penchant for piling myriad ideas into each ‘song,’ while others — we’ll call these clowns Team Fisting — love the insane technicality and complex ‘arrangements.’ I consider myself mostly on the fence but leaning somewhat towards Team Kronos. At times BTBAM blow my mind, but at many other times, I just sit there with a blank look of confusion on my face, wondering why all five guys insist on playing different songs at the same time.” Choose sides, bury stuff.

Dark Waters End – Submersion Review

By Kronos on October 15, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, 39 comments

“Some albums inspire a poetic muse in me which sees fit to furnish their reviews with an interesting introduction. Perhaps a mangled quote or musing on the themes they employ. Submersion did no such thing. Imagine an Ion Dissonance album stripped of gravitas and a good deal of technicality and you’re getting close to the confoundingly dull experience which it brings to the table.” Dark waters run derp.

Vinsta- Vinsta Wiads Review

By Dr. Wvrm on September 1, 2017 in 2017, Austrian Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Trollmusic, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 83 comments

“Some days, identifying influences is the worst part of this job. Reference points flutter atop tongue tips, tantalizingly close but ever out of reach. Vinsta provides no such difficulty. This Christian Höll (Outlawed) solo project gins up a tried-and-true formula for its debut: two parts Opeth, one part Anything Else, stir ’til frothing and mustachioed. The genre of the day is folk, but Vinsta Wiads ends up heavy on the former, light on the latter.” Heavy Opeth sounds good, right?

In Human Form – Opening of the Eye by the Death of the I Review

By Dr. Wvrm on June 24, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Black Metal, I Voidhanger Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, 35 comments

“In Human Form has me trapped in a corner. In addition to being a mouthful, Opening of the Eye by the Death of the I has seen my prosaic muse torn to pieces. I doubt this current dry spell stems from a lack of comprehension, but I pray nonetheless for a moment of clarity to absolve this torment. An undertaking this ambitious and idiosyncratic surely has a story to tell, but my thoughts are born dead, the empty words of an overactive imagination.” Open the mind or die.

Venenum – Trance of Death Review

By Roquentin on March 19, 2017 in 2017, Black Metal, Death Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Sepulchral Voice Records, Black Metal, Death Metal, 70 comments

“A lone cello sings a mournful melody in a minor key. Fluttering piano touches accentuate the subtle tremolando strings. The folksy piece develops patiently, oscillating between an ambient sort of vagueness and a nervous incisiveness. While the surprising first two and a half minutes of Bavaria’s Venenum’s full-length début Trance of Death stand in contrast with the carnage that will follow, they are also perfect archetypes of the eclecticism and compositional strength of the release as a whole.” Carnage before cello, never mellow. Cello before carnage, happy carcass.

The Reticent – On the Eve of a Goodbye Review

By Huck N Roll on October 6, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Heaven and Hell Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 60 comments

“So when I see a promo that comes from The Reticent, a one-man (Chris Hathcock) project hailing from North Carolina, I am a bit leery. Then I read he is a Grammy-nominated individual. Cool! For what? Well, for being a music teacher, and you know what they say: those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach (or review). So I expect a lesson in obscure scales and don’t hold out much hope for awesomeness.” Caution: avoid if happy.

Entropia – Ufonaut Review

By Kronos on February 7, 2016 in 2016, Arachnophobia Records, Black Metal, Polish Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 9 comments

“I’ll be honest with you; the only reason I’m even passingly familiar with Entropia’s existence comes from their commendable decision to sample a few lines of dialogue from the excellent (and yes, very brutal) Christopher Nolan film, The Prestige. The late David Bowie’s tempered portrayal of an eccentric and misunderstood Nikola Tesla living out his days in a quasi-exile in Colorado Springs brings a wistful sort of conscience to the film’s dueling protagonists, and a story of such single-minded self-destruction couldn’t be more suited for a metal adaptation. That’s just low hanging fruit, metal bands, I’m doing your work for you here.” And we don’t get paid to do PR!

Rhine – An Outsider Review

By El Cuervo on January 30, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Unsigned Bands, Black Metal, Death Metal, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, 15 comments

“I would very much have enjoyed to be present in the early planning stages for An Outsider, the sophomore release by Seattle’s Rhine. They were presumably too sincerely engrossed in masturbatory discussions of how their favorite bands have “influenced our sound” and solemn declarations that “I just wanna make good music man, fuck genre-conformism” to notice that the net result is beyond kaleidoscopic.” Mixer metal has arrived!

Between the Buried and Me – Coma Ecliptic Review

By Kronos on July 5, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Metal Blade, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Progressive Metal, 62 comments

“It’s been three years since North Carolina’s most ambitious prog troupe polished off their Parallax album duo, which means fans will have had time to listen through the past two LPs about twice in total. In the proud tradition of sensu stricto prog rock and metal, Between the Buried and Me have churned out predictably wacky and bombastic rock operas for the past decade and a half and show no sign of slowing down, grounding themselves, or learning how to write songs.” Prog is a mighty sticky wicket.

WRVTH – WRVTH Review

By Grymm on June 15, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Death Metal, Djent, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Djent, 23 comments

“Before I progress further, I want to make something clear: I’ve long held the belief that the letter “V” is not a vowel. Yes, I know, look at my screen name, but bear with me here. Call it being stubborn from years of having it drilled into my head in elementary school, but when I see it used in words like “kvlt” or “trve,” I cringe. Or if it’s used in place of an “f”, I also shudder. Case in point: Cali tech-deathsters WRVTH. How do you even pronounce that? “Ruhth?” “Rooth?” “Rivith?”” Spelling is fun.