Between the Buried and Me

Everyone loves Between the Buried and Me so much that it seems as if they could shit onto two-inch tape and people would eat it up like candy. When it comes to latest offering The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, that might be the case. How else could a band issue three songs as the first part of a double-album concept, clocking in at a half-hour, and not be messing with us? Hearing this explosion of creativity, virility, melodic adventurousness and boundary pushing, it's the only way they could actually give it the breadth it deserves. Sure, some moments could have sat perfectly in the waste bin ("Spectacular Reflection" boasts eye-rolling harmonies and a few structures pulled right from Led Zeppelin IV), but when surrounded by exploratory progressiveness that fuses the more compelling aspects of Rush (yes, there were some) with Dillinger Escape Plan's aural hypothesizing on Chaos Theory, it takes an idiot to not be impressed, confused and curious. While there's something to be said for direct simplicity, BTBAM prefer taking every personal influence, no matter how dichotomous, and incorporating them into a grandiose foray that feels like three distinct albums, not just three songs. At that, the story behind this album is unimportant; it's the music and compellingly frenetic delivery that ensure The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is equal parts mind-blowing and infinitely exciting.