Close your eyes, hold your breath, and venture into Alaska and beyond with Between The Buried And Me
Call them what you want, but as problematic to categorize as they are, Between The Buried And Me can best be described as an emotion-evoking rollercoaster, a cyclone of sonic splendor, a group of exceptionally innovative Artists. Call it death metal, power metal, hardcore, poignant rock, call it what you will, Between The Buried And Me's follow-up to The Silent Circus, entitled Alaska, utters sheer brilliance from start to finish. 2003 saw the release of their Victory debut, The Silent Circus, and now their legions of staunchly loyal fans are on the edge of their seats waiting for their follow-up album. Does it measure up to The Silent Circus? Yes, it does. Between The Buried And Me have invited their listeners to journey with them into uncharted territory and unbroken ground with the release of their provocative new album, Alaska.
Started in the year 2000, Between The Buried And Me formed as an effort to create music that explored beyond the barriers of their previous hardcore efforts. The band started playing shows around North Carolina, then unleashed their critically acclaimed self-titled debut upon the unprepared world, mesmerizing listeners. Between The Buried And Me took their show to the road and won over multitudes of fans before being quickly scooped up by indie powerhouse Victory Records. With a recording deal in hand, Between The Buried And Me went on to record one of metalcore's finest opuses, The Silent Circus, and began to reach prolific, underground cult status. We knew when we recorded The Silent Circus that we had something special in our hands. The next step we knew we had to take was to get out there and show people what we can do, said vocalist Tommy Rogers. Rave reviews of this album came in by the boatload from publications and websites like Uranium Music, who called The Silent Circus One of the best albums of the year, and Chord Magazine who said, if you like blazing tempo changes, sick guitar work and super speedy drumming, these guys have got the goods.
While praise of Between The Buried And Me's musical innovation and ability poured in, they covered the North American continent, touring with bands like Bleeding Through, Converge, and Darkest Hour. Their world domination had begun. During this period, Between The Buried And Me went through several lineup changes, giving us their finest assemblage to date, featuring Tommy Rogers on vocals, Paul Waggoner and Dusty Waring on guitar, Dan Briggs on bass, and Blake Richardson on drums. Come spring of 2005, it was time for the band to head back to North Carolina to get ready to start writing fresh, sprawling, cerebral new compositions that appear on their new album, Alaska.
Alaska was recorded throughout June of 2005: first at Basement Studios in Rural Hall, NC with Jamie King, who was known for recording Between The Buried And Me's self-titled release. We were stoked to go back and record again with Jamie. We've known him for years and have recorded with him before, it definitely feels like home in his studio, said lead guitarist Paul Waggoner. After the recording sessions were complete, the band headed to Boston and finished up the album with producer Matthew Ellard, who recorded The Silent Circus and is also known for his work with Converge and Bury Your Dead.Between The Buried And Me are back to eschew any ideas of conventional thought and push themselves into never before seen artistic directions. Fans of intelligent, heavy music aren't prepared for the musical ambush coming their way; Alaska is a magnum opus showcasing the band's hypnotic and elaborate guitar work, relentless rhythmic underlining, thought-provoking lyrics, and creative ingenuity. Not since releases like Refused's The Shape Of Punk To Come and The Mars Volta's De-Loused In The Comatorium has the music world seen such an envelope-pushing group of musicians. Between The Buried And Me have upped the ante for all musical releases to come. Damn, they've done it again.
Official biography
