Review: Between the Buried And Me – Anatomy Of (2006)

Between the Buried and Me decided to change things up in 2006. After three albums of original material, the band then decided last year to take their unique sound and apply it to a recording consisting entirely of covers. While this is not an original concept, the band’s choice of covers is very unexpected (actually, we are talking about BTBAM, so I guess it should be entirely expected), with some choices that you really have to listen to to believe. Therefore, I am going to go off my own beaten path, and do a review featuring each song one by one.

1. Blackened (Metallica) – Despite there being a dose of Sepultura, Earth Crisis and Pantera on this album later on, this cover of “Blackened” is far and away the heaviest song on the album. The riffs and drums are covered almost perfectly except for their own brand of blast beats courtesy of outstanding drumwork and writing to let listeners who is playing this devious tune. Despite this being a fine cover, it really doesn’t stand out from other death metal covers I have heard of Metallica with gutterals all the way through. However, its definitely a quality listen all the way through.

2. Kickstart My Heart (Motley Crue) – Alright, this is where things start to get interesting. After listening to Blackened, I was ready for the entire album save for a few selections, to be made up entirely of growling like Six Feet Under does so “eloquently” on their Graveyard Classics albums. Instead, I am surprised to hear an almost identical retelling of the original from the drums, to the riffs, and yes, even the vocals. Rogers does a fine job mimicking Mr. Neil, and while otherwise this wouldn’t be a particularly praise worthy task, the fact it is coming from a predominantly death metal band shows just how diverse and meaningful this cover really is. Very enjoyable.

3. Day I Tried to Live (Soundgarden) – Whoa….whoa. This is, simply put, an incredible cover and the best cover of Soundgarden I have ever heard. This is the perfect combination of aggressive metal courtesy of BTBAM growls and distorted guitars that were not as predominantly held in the original. Soundgarden crafted a very telling piece of music when they wrote this one, BTBAM merely highlights the best moments of the songs, from the slower melancholy moments, the the outrage felt in the heavier moments. BTBAM shows that Soundgarden is indeed metal, even without the heavy retelling. Amazing song.

4. Bicycle Race (Queen) - Incredibly authentic with heavier riffs. Rogers really demonstrates his incredible range as a vocalist in this album. He goes from low key Soundgarden, to high pitched happy go lucky in this Queen cover. Hell, the whole band demonstrates that they don’t fuck around when it comes to their art. A covers album to them is no joke, and this is a perfect example of that.

5. Three of A Perfect Pair (King Crimson) – Unexpected band to be covered with an unexpected outcome. This is the most well thought out song on the entire album and really demonstrates the abilities of BTBAM. If you have heard this song before, you know its a perfect cover for BTBAM in every way, especially after hearing them do it. The wow factor on this one is intense.

6. Us And Them (Pink Floyd) – See King Crimson above. This is a further demonstration that BTBAM’s progressive chops have a base in the classics.

7. Geek U.S.A. (Smashing Pumpkins) - Yet another track where Rogers demonstrates his vocal abilities. I dunno, maybe he went out of his way to find bands he knew he could replicate vocally, regardless, the vocals are just about spot on from the original. A great grunge turned heavy metal cover here.

8. Forced March (Earth Crisis) – I am surprised more hardcore punk hasn’t been included on this album considering the primary fan base of this band and how they got their start. However, interesting enough, there really isn’t much punk to be heard on this album. It sounds more like a neo-thrash album with some gutterals thrown in. Slightly unexpected, but maybe it is just the song choice. Not bad, but I think I would have preferred to hear a real hardcore cover.

9. Territory (Sepultura) - Good cover, but I wish they would have covered an earlier Sepultura song. I don’t think this tune does BTBAM’s skills justice. Chaos A.D. was the beginning of a long hard journey for Sepultura into the depths of nu-metal and neo-thrash. A cover from Arise or Beneath the Remains. However, for what it is, it is a great cover and very authentic…surprise surprise.

10. Change (Blind Melon) - Its Blind Melon, what can I say. This was a moment in American history where the Seattle scene took a softer side, and its obviously a strong influence for BTBAM. Very good cover, and once again, holds true to the original.

11. Malpractice (Faith No More) - Along with Metallica, this is one of the few heavier than average retellings in comparison to the original. It stays true, but like ‘Blackened’, takes liberties with the heaviness factor and adds in growling to make things interesting. And it works! Mike Patton would appreciate this I think.

12. Little 15 (Depeche Mode) – No metal to be had in this one, and thats exactly the way it should be. Its Depeche Mode for crying out loud! Sad and forboding as always with Depeche Mode, which comes across beautifully in this cover.

13. Cemetary Gates (Pantera) - Another great choice for BTBAM. Pantera has some really heavy stuff, but “Cemetary Gates” really showed the complexity that Pantera write out. It features one of this best crescendos in all of metal, and BTBAM, once again, demonstrates how great they really can be both through song selection and execution. Also, its worth mentioning that they aggressive parts of this album don’t feature growling, but actually clean vocals that are even tamer than Phil Anselmo’s work (not quite has heartfelt as the original though).

14. Colorblind (Counting Crows) - This is a bonus track, so if you don’t have it on your version, go download it or something, cause its an awesome. This is Counting Crows revisited, its really hard to say anything that hasn’t already been said about BTBAM’s ability to cover tracks. To me, they are almost second to none (at least in the metal world).

Man, Between the Buried and Me are masters at what they do, and they are all quite young and in a metal band. Its really incredible and refreshing that this album features such an eclectic choice of tunes. Its almost laughable when a death metal or thrash metal band covers another thrash or death metal song. BTBAM, if they stay together for the long haul, will eventually go beyond metal to become a juggernaut of something all together more in their mode. These guys are simply too good to stick strictly to death metal with progressive leanings, however, for now, we can rock out to what they hath bestowed upon us.

AMAZING

Top Tracks: Three of a Perfect Pair, The Day I Tried to Live, Kickstart My Heart

Similar Bands: Its a cover album, check the tracks!

1.    Blackened (Metallica cover)
2.    Kickstart My Heart (Mötley Crüe cover)
3.    Day I Tried to Live (Soundgarden cover)
4.    Bicycle Race (Queen cover)
5.    Three of a Perfect Pair (King Crimson cover)
6.    Us and Them (Pink Floyd cover)
7.    Geek U.S.A. (The Smashing Pumpkins cover)
8.    Forced March (Earth Crisis cover)
9.    Territory (Sepultura cover)
10.    Change (Blind Melon cover)
11.    Malpractice (Faith No More cover)
12.    Little 15 (Depeche Mode cover)
13.    Cemetary Gates (Pantera cover)

Thomas Giles Rogers Jr. – Vocals, Keyboards
Paul Waggoner – Guitars
Dusty Waring – Guitar
Dan Briggs – Bass
Blake Richardson – Drums

Victory Records
www.betweentheburiedandme.com
www.myspace.com/betweentheburiedandmeband.com