Between the Buried and Me have been at the forefront of technical metal ever since they busted out their monster full-length Alaska in 2005. They captivated their rabid fans again with Colors and The Great Misdirect as well as making a long-overdue move from Victory Records to Metal Blade. This year, BTBAM hypnotized their fans once again with their first EP, The Paralax: Hypersleep Dialogues, of which our writer James Zalucky typed up a great review.
When BTBAM announced a tour with Cephalic Carnage, The Ocean and Job for a Cowboy, naturally I was excited, but when I saw a New York date beginning the tour, the possibility of being a part of the first crowd to ever hear The Paralax live made me scream like that fat Slayer fan.
SLAYYYEEERRRRR!
Unfortunately Cephalic Carnage were not on this leg of the tour (they start on April 27th) so The Ocean came on early. Being a Friday night, I had to rush to the show after work, fighting through Long Island traffic and taking way too long to find a parking space. I was ready to drink as many beers as humanly possible during JFAC's set to prepare for a night of Paul Waggoner solos and 14-minute epics, but as I got to the doors at around 9pm, I heard the insane opening riff of "Augment of Rebirth," the second song off The Paralax. FFFFUUUUUUUUUU….. I pushed through the packed crowd to find my friends by the bar, not knowing how much of the set I had actually missed. I remember thinking very vividly, "If they played Selkies already I'm going to throw myself into the soundboard." I had seen the band twice before, without the boys whipping out their signature anthem.
After BTBAM finished playing the rest of The Paralax some of my worries were alleviated as drummer Blake Richardson began "Sun of Nothing." It was obvious that this crowd was here to see Between the Buried and Me, as roars of "Spaceman!" filled the room of nearly 500. The cult of Colors had drank the Kool-Aid and broke out with unmistakable energy as "Sun of Nothing" transitioned perfectly into "Ants of the Sky." BTBAM fans tend to know which guitarist is going to break out the next solo, and this song belongs to Paul Waggoner. Consisting of larger than life riffs, flawless sweeping and breathtaking bluesy fills, the crowd lit up with each Waggoner transition.
We were gifted next with my personal favorite track from The Great Misdirect, "Fossil Genera: A Feed From Cloud Mountain." As the surrealistic Vaudeville piano intro began, the crowd kept their energy up, singing and whistling along with Tommy Giles Rogers. Although the shortest song the band played so far was 8 1/2 minutes, there was never a feeling of impatience for the next song. The 12-minute "Fossil Genera" sped by like a Ramones track, the crowd foaming at the mouth for more scientifically pummeling metal. Tommy shouted every live music fan's least favorite words, "Alright, this is our last song." Suddenly there was a disturbance on stage. The Crazy Donkey staff were telling the band that they had to cut their set short to make the 10pm curfew, probably for some stupid dance party. Boos were being spit from every corner of the venue. The members of BTBAM all seemed anxious on the stage, rushing to decide on how to end the show. Finally after some discussion, Tommy addressed the crowd, "We wanted to play a longer song for you guys, but we've got to play something shorter." He paused for a few seconds, situating himself at his keyboard. "We haven't played this song in a long time." Although the room was near silent, every fan was thinking of the same obsession.We braced ourselves for what could either be a godlike performance, or an unlikely letdown. But then it came…
Selkies: The Endless Obsession. Like fate, Between the Buried and Me were pigeonholed into playing the crowd favorite. We all let out monstrous yells and threw our hands up in celebration. BTBAM played the piece flawlessly just like always, but the strangest thing happened that couldn't have been any less planned… guitarist Dustie Waring looked out into the crowd and smiled from ear to ear. Known for his intense concentration and stone-faced seriousness, a smile from Dustie is about as rare as spotting Halley's Comet, but there it was. The band made their curfew and the crowd left elated, being the first people to not only hear the entire Paralax live, but the first to hear Selkies in far too long.
Finally, it's my pleasure to present you with a video of Between the Buried and Me playing "Spectacular Reflection" live for the very first time. Damn they're good.
