Tag: Between the Buried and Me

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Between The Buried And Me w/ The Dear Hunter

Between the Buried and Me is a thinking man’s hardcore unit hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band began in 2000 after the dissolution of vocalist Tommy Rogers and guitarist Paul Waggoner‘s previous group, Prayer for Cleansing. Rogers and Waggoner completed their new lineup with the addition of guitarist Nick Fletcher, bassist Jason King(ex-Azazel), and drummer Mark Castillo, formerly of Bury Your Dead. An eponymous debut soon appeared, issued through the German indie Lifeforce, and the band supported its release with an avid tour schedule. Between the Buried and Me signed with Chicago hardcore powerhouse Victory in the summer of 2002 and began work on their debut for the label. The Silent Circusappeared in late October of the following year and showcased a more focused fusion of the group’s math rock, heavy metal, and post-hardcore influences. Several lineup changes ensued that saw Rogers and Waggonerrounded out by guitarist Dusty Waring, bassist Dan Briggs, and drummer Blake Richardson. Joining forces with producer Jamie King, who had recorded their self-titled effort, Between the Buried and Mereleased Alaska in September 2005. Various tour dates with the Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Bleeding Through, and Haste the Day followed. The band next paid tribute to many of their influences — from Pantera to Queen to Pink Floyd — on the covers album The Anatomy Of, which surfaced in June 2006, before hitting the road on a subsequent headlining tour. That fall, Victory reissued The Silent Circus with an additional bonus DVD of material. In 2007, they went into the studio with producer Jamie King and recorded Colors, which was released that September through Victory Records and described as “new wave polka grunge” by the band. The Great Misdirect, the band’s fifth studio album, appeared two years later. Victory put out a Between the Buried and Me greatest-hits album in 2011, just weeks before the band released their first EP on Metal Blade, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, the first entry in a two-part concept album. The second part, The Parallax II: Future Sequence, followed in 2012. In 2013, they embarked on The Future Sequence Tour, where they played The Parallax II in full. BTBAM re-entered the studio in late 2014 to begin work on a new concept recording — Metal Blade referred to it as a “rock opera.” Coma Ecliptic was produced by Jamie King and mixed by Jens Bogren. The set’s pre-release single, “Memory Palace,” appeared in April of 2015; the album followed in July. In 2017 the band released the concert LP Coma Ecliptic Live, which featured the band playing the album live in its entirety at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, California.

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August Burns Red and Between the Buried and Me

August Burns Red

 

Jake Luhrs—vocals; JB Brubaker—guitar; Brent Rambler – guitar; Dustin Davidson—bass; Matt Greiner—drums 

With 12 years as a band under the belt, Lancaster PA’s August Burns Red know what they are doing and what they want to sound like.

Found in Far Away Places, the band’s sixth full-length and Fearless Records debut, is full of unpredictable, unexpected moments that will both surprise and delight the band’s fanbase. With the support of a brand new label, August Burns Red are ready for the next chapter and to chart another period of l growth.

With a solid collection of 5 previous albums, Thrill Seeker (2005), Messengers (2007), Constellations (2009), Leveler (2011), 2013’s Rescue & Restore debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, establishing August Burns Red as one of the metalcore scene’s premier bands. They asserted themselves by being a bit sonically different from everyone else in the scene, refusing to rely on alternately sung and screamed vocals to make a point. August Burns Red’s career was built on the back of hard work, word of mouth, and moshable tunes. The band continues to skillfully craft a balance between ferociously heavy sound with empowering lyrical content, while showcasing a rich surplus of inventive guitar riffs, blistering solos, and dynamic drumming.

“We want to be at the forefront of our genre, not following the pack,” guitarist JB Brubaker declared. “We’re are always tweaking our sound and introducing new elements. For that reason, I think that every time we put out a new record, it’s its own beast and new fans keep finding us. They might not have liked our four records prior, but what we’ve become is more up their alley. That’s fine. We evolve and we try not to get stuck in a rut.”

The band bunkered at Atrium Audio in Lancaster, recording once again with Carson Slovak. The album finds singer Jake Luhrs still screaming like he is scaling the bowels of hell, but there are more melodic undertones, along with more guitar melodies, adding further layers to the overall sound. Brubaker labels Found in Far Away Places the band’s “most progressive record” and it’s their longest, clocking in at 55 minutes over 11 tracks.

“This is the next step forward in the direction we are heading,” Brubaker noted. “It’s not a massive departure and it is an August Burns Red record. It’s the latest installment. The next episode. We expanded on our favorite elements of the non-metal parts of Rescue & Restore, and those parts are the surprises the first time you hear it, since you will be like ‘Wow, I was not expecting that.’ Some of it is easier to grasp as a whole, yet faster than some previous records. The songwriting is more cohesive. There are catchier moments that are more hook-oriented.”

Some of the album’s many standouts are “Ghost,” which features a guest vocal from A Day to Remember’s Jeremy McKinnon and “Identity,” which is “a more straightforward August Burns Red song, heavier than granite, but backed by smart guitarwork. “The Wake” opens the album with choppy riffs, guitar squalls, and a rhythmic thrust.

August Burns Red’s Found in Far Away Places charged fiercely into release week, debuting at #4 on the Billboard Top Albums Chart, #9 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 Rock Album, #1 Independent Album, and #1 on iTunes Metal Chart, selling over 29,000 copies in its first week. Found In Far Away Places has been noted by Revolver Magazine as “heavier and more creative than ever”, “an emotionally charged thrill ride of a record,” by Metal Hammer Magazine, while Absolutepunk.net calls the album “a clear contender for Album Of The Year for 2015.” Lead singer Jake Luhrs was featured on the cover of Substream Magazine’s Warped Tour Issue, and the band was featured on the cover HM Magazine’s May issue. Members of August Burns Red were nominated in this year’s Alternative Press Music Awards 2015, and Jake presented the award for ‘Best Guitarist’.