Between The Buried And Me – The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues

So what do you do after you have pushed every conceivable musical envelope with your two previous records? In a nutshell that’s what Between The Buried And Me has done on Colors (2006) and The Great Misdirect (2009). The band’s latest effort, entitled The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues sees a slight change of direction…

It seems like the band has cut the proverbial fat out of their music. The band is true to their virtuoso selves on the album, but it seems they stripped Specular Reflection, Augment Of Rebirth and Lunar Wilderness to their bare essence. The focus is firmly on technical death/metalcore, but the progressive undercurrent is still fiercely present. The long forays into jazz, blues and other genres are greatly shortened, but the parts that are there create quite a compelling effect.

Of course I miss the extended progressive musical adventures, but realistically speaking how long can you duplicate the same idea before it becomes stale? It’s to their credit the band dares to move and try new things. Moreover, the song material on The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues still contains at least six albums worth of ideas for more conventional bands. No love lost there.

Production wise The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues has a more “metal” sound, which enhances the aggressive edge of the song material.

This album shows a more focused and refined side of Between The Buried And Me. All the familiar elements are still there, but used in a more subtle way. The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is the first installment of a new series of albums, so I’m anxious what Tommy Rogers and Co have in store for us. Until that time this EP should keep me off the streets…

Written by Raymond Westland