Between the Buried and Me - Colors

Colors is a pretty good metal album, although I like it much more for its non-metal aspects. I'm not sure if that's just me growing out of the genre a bit, but I definitely find more enjoyment in say, Opeth's music, and I think it's probably just Between the Buried and Me not being as good. This was a pretty well received album though, and there is a lot of good about it. All the way through, I find Colors ever so slightly boring, except for many moments throughout that are particularly grabbing and keep it enjoyable. Usually these moments are when they depart from growling and crunching noise. The problem is that it's just moments, rarely lasting longer than a nicely sung chorus (Why do so many of these hardcore throat-shredders have good singing voices, and why don't they use them more?) or good guitar solo, and it's hard to make a great album when none of your songs can be described as entirely awesome.

The album begins in epic fashion, with "Foam Born (A) The Backtrack". A piano and single voice play pleasantly, there is a pause, and then THE METAL comes in, with a choir of the same guy still vocalizing pleasantly accompanying the rapid drumming and wall of noise. It breaks down into some gravelly speak-singing and devious sounding guitars, segueing into part B of Foam Born, "The Decade of Statues" begins, and gets into what the band really sounds like. I kind of lose focus until "Informal Gluttony" begins with an interesting, slow-paced, extended intro, and also features a good refrain, my favorite bit of singing on the record. "Sun of Nothing" is the first of a few behemoths that clock in at over ten minutes, and has several interesting interludes, featuring various clashing musical styles. What's interesting is how the various tracks seamlessly flow into each other, and while that can make it seem at first like the songs sound too similar, it tends to work in the album's favor, as no one sound lasts too long. "Prequel to the Sequel" seems like a more traditional, aggressive metal tune, and after a nice but forgettable breather track, "White Walls" finishes the album up. The high pitched, squealing guitars at the end serve as a suitable climax for a good, but not great effort.