Between The Buried And Me – Colors II | Album Review

Sequel records are an odd and alarming proposition within the music industry. Especially more-so when a grandiose length of time has passed since the release of the original body of work.

On one hand, it could be perceived as indication that the band in question are tapping into the experimental leylines that jettisoned the creation of the original album in question. On the other it could be a warning sign that a band are about to tread water and rehash creative ideas from years prior out of creative stagnation.

So with that in consideration, eyes where raised en-mass when Between The Buried And Me announced Colors II, the spiritual and titular sequel to the 2007 LP that solidified their stance as one of the most vital acts within the progressive metal echelon. It may be a bombastic claim in-itself, but Between The Buried And Me have often been recognised as one the arbiters of the genre. Their subtly nonconformist and innovative approach to dynamic progressive extremity has essentially immortalised them within the halls of the genre, and it was the release of Colors – a record of staunch musical integrity – that propelled them onto the pedestal they have remained on since. The original Colors, was as frontman Tommy Rodgers states, a “do-or-die statement”, a frantic and urgent attempt to forge their own identity within the metal miasma of the global scene. Of course, the record was a success, and Between The Buried And Me have gone onto explore paths anew since the release of the record almost 15 years ago. It makes one wonder why the band have gone to retread the once cautious steps from their turbulent youth.

Of course though, time moves as a circle and Between The Buried And Me have returned to a position much akin to the one they where in way back in 2007. With their 20th anniversary marathon tour plans eschewed due to the pandemic and with the band once again stuck on a planet spinning out of control on it’s axis, the band have spent the last year or so doing what they did back in the late noughties; contemplating the nature of humanity, the world and their place within it all. Colors II, much like it’s predecessor, is a statement of intent, of observation and of purpose. It’s a record that and tries to untangle the perpetual mess of the human condition and is a record that see’s Between The Buried And Me going fully all in on restating their identity in the modern day. Thematically, conceptually and in delivery, Colors II runs in the same lines as it’s predecessor. But musically, it’s been bolstered by the confidence and finesse that comes with two decades creating progressive metal at in it’s most bizarre and experimental form. Simply, Colors II is without a doubt the band’s most wild, weird and boldest record to date.

Much akin to the first Colors instalment, Colors II takes form as a vibrant tapestry of experimentation. However, the first instalment of Colors feels positively bland when compared to this sidewinding record. It may be that Between The Buried And Me are paralleling the population’s dwindling attention span, but this record see’s the band fully doubling down on the genre dynamism, creativity, energy and the sense of wild abandon found within their work as of late. It’s to be expected, especially after the nature of the Automata double record, but there is absolutely no subtleness to this abundant sense of creative recklessness. Following on from the synth speckled opener of ‘Monochrome’, the devastating ‘The Double Helix Of Extinction’ blasts into gear with unafraid deathcore pinch harmonics and dramatic electronics all before crashing into a mid-track breakdown that’s compete with honest to God airhorns.

From here, the madness continues; ‘Revolution In Limbo’ spontaneously breaks into spicy salsa, the lead single of ‘Fix The Error’ feels like the band’s attempt at soundtracking the next instalment of the Mario Kart series and the twelve minute runtime of ‘Never Seen/Future Shock’ see’s the band channeling the fervour of the original Colors prior to incorporating elements of tech-metal in the style of Intervals and straight up polka. There’s a lot to take on board and absorb, but the by the time you realise what left-field direction Between The Buried And Me are heading in they’re already pulling into new genres.

Complete with a grand rock-opera aesthetic, if there ever was a term to encapsulate this record it would be ‘imaginatively chaotic’. But yet, it works wonders. Between The Buried And Me have always been lauded for their penchant for frantic imagination and using conflicting genre styles to articulate their subjects and concepts but this record takes to a whole new level in terms of experimentation. Even for a record that’s pushing the 80 minute mark, there never is a singular moment where Colors II begins to even flaunter in it’s energy, with the record constantly barrel-rolling, corkscrewing and helixing through a myriad of genres one would never even begin to associate with the progressive metal genre.

There’s moments where the record visits suave late 20th century disco pop-rock (‘The Future Is Behind Us’), total art-rock (‘Turbulent’) – and in the case of ‘Prehistory’ – there’s a track that feels like it was a progressive metal take on Looney Tunes, complete with cartoon soundbites. However, all of this is captured through the band’s kaleidoscopic progressive metal lens and is stitched together with elastic fluidity. Even with the total creative ambition this is still very much a Between The Buried And Me record, but simultaneously, there could be a full academic paper on the all the genres touched upon in this record and fans will undoubtedly spend hours upon hours dismantling this album piece by piece to analyse it’s contents and turns.

In all, this record should not work on paper. Even by the group’s standards, this record is utterly madcap, left-field and utterly, utterly bizarre. But yet, it’s not only a masterful and awe-inspiring body of experimentalism, it way well be the group’s finest hour to date. Colors II is as vibrantly blinding as it’s moniker implies, stands as a record that just bristles with skilful finesse and spectacularly documents the endless chaos of modern humanity with it’s labyrinthine turns and twists. If this record’s primary goal was to showcase Between The Buried And Me’s modern identity with clarity, it’s very much achieved that to a point where the band appear compositely distanced from their peers in the best way possible.