Last Tuesday: Between the Buried and Me - Melting City

     Whenever I'm looking for something technically proficient for a Tuesday post, I've got a couple of go-to sources that never let me down. One such well I visit frequently is the catalogue of Virginia's Arsis, but this time around I'm going south a state for a cut from North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me.

     Dazzling technicality is all over Between the Buried and Me's catalogue, but for last Tuesday I'm going with the epic "Melting City" from 2012's The Parallax II: Future Sequence. This one starts off with proggy fury, and even though things mellow out and get a little jazzier for a couple of stretches over the course of the ten-minute running time of "Melting City", there's never a lull in the top-notch musicianship. It's a bit of a time investment, but get to the end and I think you'll find it was all worth it. Go on. Click the link and find out if I'm right. I'll wait.

Native Construct - Mute

     I've written about Boston progressive metal band Native Construct before, back in the spring before their latest LP Quiet World came out. But now Quiet World is out there in our world, and the band has released a video for new single "Mute".

     It's basically a band-playing-the-song-in-a-studio-style video, but that's not going to matter to you one bit when you hear the song itself. "Mute" is six minutes of techincally proficient prog of the epic variety -- all the symph(onic)/synth touches make me think Dream Theater meets Between the Buried and Me at times. But there's more fusion going on here than that, and more laid-back electro-prog-pop grooves (how's that for an adjective?)

     Personally I'd say the strings are a little dominant in the mix at times, but that all gets washed away in the tasty jams of the last minute or so. In fact, "Mute" might just have the slickest little ten or fifteen seconds of outro I've heard in a while. Check it out for yourself, but don't just skip ahead!

Monday: Between the Buried and Me - Famine Wolf

     Hey kids, it's me again, and once more I've been pretty unproductive for most of this week. This time around I blame a combination of recovery from ingestion of meat and alcohol at last weekend's local rib and beer fest and recovery from a gnarly sinus infection. But of course, you don't really want to hear that kind of shit -- you just want to hear some music, right?

     So: how're you getting on with the new Between the Buried and Me album? I know it's a couple of months old by this point, but I recently had it in my car for maybe a week, so I'm much more familiar with it now than I was then. My somewhat-updated take? How exactly is a rock opera different from a concept album? I'm not complaining about the bands "newish" direction (ie: the rock opera), but as far as I'm concerned, Coma Ecliptic just sounds like a badass Between the Buried and Me album. Their last couple have had underlying concepts, so this one just seems like par for the proggy course.

     There are a bunch of cool tracks and parts on Coma Ecliptic, but your much belated Metal Monday song is "Famine Wolf", because it showcases a number of the different aspects that make up Between the Buried and Me's sound. Have a listen or two, and then maybe you can tell me what's so rock opera about it.

Monday: Between the Buried and Me - The Coma Machine

     I know it hasn't been that long since the last time I posted about a song from Between the Buried and Me's forthcoming Coma Ecliptic, but this is another one of those times when I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't draw your attention to the following.

     Of course, if you're into Between the Buried and Me, you've likely already heard the latest single "The Coma Machine" and seen the accompanying video. But if you've yet to check it out, allow me to recommend that you do, because it seems like the most "rock opera-y" glimpse we've gotten to date into the rock opera that supposedly is Coma Ecliptic.

     There's shades of Queen for sure, and maybe some Dream Theater, and plenty more besides. Coma Ecliptic sounds like it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's also shaping up to be something pretty epic. Bring on July.

Thursday: Between the Buried and Me - Obfuscation

     Sure, it's Monday out here in the real world, but back in blog town it's Thursday, so let's throw it back with an absolutely epic piece of labyrinthine prog from 2009.

     We're inching closer every day to the summer release of Coma Ecliptic, the latest from prog metal titans Between the Buried and Me, and that's all the excuse I need to feature another selection from their growing catalogue of killer stuff. Your Throwback Thursday song tonight is "Obfuscation" from Between the Buried and Me's 2009 masterpiece The Great Misdirect, a nine-minute monster that has everything you could want, from furious riffing to some of the foundational melodic motifs that are going to crop up elsewhere on The Great Misdirect.

     And that's all saying nothing about the fact that "obfuscation" and its cognates like "obfuscate" are just plain fun. All told, you've basically got a fistful of reasons to revisit this one, and really no reason not to. What are you still doing here again?

Mara - Murugan

     I've got something good and heavy on tap for today, so if it's cool with you we're going to head back in the direction that started this whole Loud Noises thing in the first place: metal. Sound good? I thought you'd be OK with it.

     Baton Rouge's Mara don't necessarily have an extensive catalogue, but they do pack a lot into what they do have. Take their latest single "Murugan" as an example. Sure, it's only one song and not an EP or LP, but it's also nearly eight minutes of proggy goodness with a decidedly Between the Buried and Me feel -- I think it's all the synths and keys.

     That's not necessarily a bad thing though, if you can pull it off, and Mara do a pretty good job of it. Now it only remains to be seen what's next from these guys, and whether or not they can drop and LP of this stuff on us.

Saturday: Dance Gavin Dance - Stroke God, Millionaire

     How was your long weekend? Was it as unproductive as mine was? Now that you've emerged from your ham-and-or-turkey-induced food coma, come join me for yet another lengthy game of catch-up.

     First, a Saturday song. On Friday, I had you check out the first track to be released from Between the Buried and Me's upcoming rock opera Coma Ecliptic. Your Saturday song isn't anywhere near the epic length of "Memory Palace", but it does continue the theme of new and upcoming deliciousness.

     This time it's the second track to be released from the upcoming Dance Gavin Dance record Instant Gratification. "Stroke God, Millionaire" demonstrates DGD's continued ability to craft tasty little packages of pop-flavoured post-hardcore with just the right amount of tech (or tech-sounding) flair. If the rest of this record were to turn out at catchy and snappy as this one, I'd be a happy camper. And the icing on the cake? This ain't no lyric video son, it's full on animated mayhem. Peep it up yo.

Friday: Between the Buried and Me - Memory Palace

     So you've just finished reading about the epically proportioned tracks on Izah's debut Sistere, you've just finished listening to a sample of same in the form of "Duality", and besides perhaps being a little sweaty and physically drained from the adventure you've just been on (the Izah song, not the blog pose about Izah...) you might well be a tad sick of me and my long-ass songs this week.

     Well, you might want to pour yourself something stiff and have a seat, because I'm not done with you yet. I think, however, that you'll forgive me when you find out who's providing today's epic-length tune. Or when you just read it in the title of this post. Whichever.

     Anyways, down to it: your somewhat belated Friday song is none other than the latest from Between the Buried and Me. I'm sure you were all already aware that BTBAM has been in the studio of late, finishing off their rock opera of a next record. Well now you can hear the latest, assuming of course that another ten minutes or so of your time isn't too steep an investment.Yeah, I thought you'd find the time for  a listen to "Memory Palace". You'll thank me later.

Between the Buried and Me - The Day I Tried to Live

     Another day, another cover, as the second edition of Under the Covers of Darkness Week continues here at Loud Noises. Being that today is usually Tech Tuesday around here, I've picked a cover by a very technically proficient band, and although this particular cover isn't really tech at all, I'm hoping you'll dig the song enough to overlook the fact that it isn't played in six different time signatures at 200 BPM.

     If you're a Between the Buried and Me fan, you're probably (hopefully?) already aware that back in 2006 the band put out The Anatomy Of, an album of covers from some of their favourite bands and musical influences. None of the covers is especially adventurous -- nobody really gets the full-on BTBAM epic death prog treatment -- but its still cool to hear some notable classics given a bit of a metallic edge.

     Classics like today's song, "The Day I Tried to Live", originally recorded by Soundgarden for their 1994 masterpiece Superunknown. Between the Buried and Me's version retains all the power of the original even as it gives the song an aggressive new bent. If you're a fan of the song or of either band, I think you'll enjoy giving this cover a spin.

Saturday: Thomas Giles - Siphon the Bad Blood

     How's your weekend been treating you? Not psychedelic enough for your tastes? Me and Tommy G from Between the Buried and Me have got just what the doctor ordered.

     Of course, that assumes that your prescribing doctor is some kind of mad scientist. The video for "Siphon the Bad Blood", the latest track to be released from Thomas Giles' upcoming solo record Modern Noise, is awash in strange hues and superimposed footage reminiscent of the nightmare-inducing boat scenes in the 1971 classic Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.

     The result is a trippy take on a somewhat simple video concept for a fairly straightforward song. Giles' solo work is usually pretty far removed from his work with Between the Buried and Me, and "Siphon the Bad Blood" is no exception, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Check "Siphon" out, and if it's your cup of tea, keep an eye out for the release of Modern Noise in about two weeks.

Thomas Giles - Mutilated World

     If you're a fan of Between the Buried and Me, you're no doubt aware that the band recently released their Future Sequence: Live at Fidelitorium live DVD/Blu-Ray performance of The Parallax II: Future Sequence in its entirety (what a mouthful!) But you might be somewhat less cognizant of the fact that the band's frontman Tommy Rogers is a little over a month from releasing his second solo effort under the Thomas Giles moniker.

     Or maybe you're super aware of this already, I don't know. Maybe you've already heard "Mutilated World", the first single from the upcoming Modern Noise, and discovered that it's pretty different from Between the Buried and Me while still having flashes of heavy-ish-ness. The little guitar run/drum fill bits that serve as transitions at a couple of points in the song seem particularly BTBAM-ish to my ear, as if the band were experimenting with their kind of style in a new musical context.

     But it's a Thomas Giles record, not a BTBAM record, which means the whole thing will likely be a somewhat mellower affair. Does that mean you as a metalhead won't find anything to get behind? Not necessarily. Check out "Mutilated World" and see if you dig Tommy's vocal work in a non-prog/tech/death setting.

Between the Buried and Me - Extremophile Elite

     Fans of Between the Buried and Me will already know that the band's live DVD/BluRay Future Sequence: Live at Fidelitorium comes out next week, but the uninitiated might be wondering why they should be concerned with this fact.

     The logic goes thusly: Between the Buried and Me play an intricate, technical brand of prog death on any given day of the week, but things are ramped up a couple of notches when the band tackles a nice hefty story as they have on their last couple of records. Things are further elevated when you hear slices of these complex narratives performed live, but the vogue thing now for bands to do (BTBAM included) is performing albums in their entirety on tour.

     Live at Fidelitorium takes this magic and shifts it into a studio setting, performing the entirety of The Parallax II: Future Sequence in one go, with a bunch of guest musicians on various orchestral-type instruments thrown in for good measure. I was sold on the idea right there, but the band has put out a video of one of the songs from the DVD and it should be plenty strong enough to sway any doubters.

     Your song tonight is "Extremophile Elite", originally from Future Sequence but here taken from Live at Fidelitorium. Bask in the apparent ease with which the guys tear through this one, and then go get yourself a copy of the DVD.

Thursday: Bispora - The Expedition

     Fuck you and your "Throwback Thursdays", today's Techback Thursday, bitches!

     Tonight's flavour of techyness is the prog-influenced, electro-weirdness-tinged experimental death metal of California's Bispora. If that sounds like an uninformative description, try this: think Between the Buried and Me, skewed a little less death metal and a little more straight-ahead prog strangeness (if that makes any sense) and perhaps you'll be closer the mark.

     But even if you're still lost, don't let that stop you from checking Bispora out. Their debut LP, The Pineal Chronicles Phase I: Furtherance, is all kinds of wacky goodness. Start at the start with album opener "The Expedition" and trek onward from there.

Pomegranate Tiger - Not to See the Sun

     To coincide with the brand spankin' new Twenty Questions interview with Matt and Martin from Pomegranate Tiger I posted earlier, this evening I'm recommending you have a listen to a track from the band's debut LP Entities.

     "Not to See the Sun" is a mid-album monster, showing off both PT's ability to turn a riff on a dime as well as Martin's ability to shred out great lead work like it's going out of style. It also serves as a bit of a transition between the more isolated, disjointed elements of the first half of Entities and the three-part "Ocean" suite that dominates the album's second half.

     Like I said at the end of the Twenty Questions piece, if instrumental, progressive, and technically proficient metal is your cup of tea, you should order a whole pot of Pomegranate Tiger. Fans of bands like Animals as Leaders, Scale the Summit, and Between the Buried and Me will have little reason to be disappointed.

Twenty Questions - Matt and Martin from Pomegranate Tiger

Well howdy, stranger. Beginning to wonder if, after six months or so of radio silence, I'd ever be back with another Twenty Questions interview? Oh ye of little faith...

     Yes, it's true, it has once again been far too long, but I am indeed back with another twenty of my inane questions for another one of heavy music's up and coming bands. Today we're going to learn a little more about some pretty complex, pretty progressive instrumental metal from Matt Shaheen and Martin Andres, guitarists from Pomegranate Tiger. Take a look.

Album of the Week: Trioscapes - Separate Realities

     The other day I featured the latest from Scale the Summit's Chris Letchford, and it got me thinking about instrumental music generally, and instrumental jazz in particular, and, for my money, any conversation about modern instrumental jazz has to include the titans in Trioscapes.

     Drums, bass, and saxophone might sound like a somewhat limited palette, but it's more than enough for the boys in Trioscapes (among whom is Dan Briggs, bassist from Between the Buried and Me, for those of you who need a metal connection to justify some jazz). Exemplifying the term "power trio", Trioscapes weave funky, labyrinthine grooves that can't help but appeal to the riff-oriented mind of this metalhead.

     I've said before, and will no doubt say again, that Trioscapes are a great equalizer. Put them on in a roomful of different musical tastes and watch as everyone miraculously becomes a jazz convert. OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much; I most definitely have put Trioscapes' debut Separate Realities on for friends of mine who don't normally share my musical tastes and discovered that lo, we have come ground after all. So why don't you spend some time with Separate Realities this week and see if you too have a little jazz in you.

Wednesday: Thomas Giles - Hypoxia

     Well, my midterm marking is finally done, which means I've got some time to get caught up on a bunch of shit. And the first order of business on my shit list is you guys! So let's get started with something for Wednesday.

     That something is going to be a little mellow, but hopefully a little eye-opening for some of you. First, listen to "Hypoxia" from the 2011 album Pulse by Thomas Giles. Then answer a couple of questions for me: Does that name look familiar? And does he sound familiar? He should. Those layered vocals can also be found in the chaotic mix of sound that is Between the Buried and Me, since Thomas Giles is also Tommy Rogers, the band's vocalist and keyboardist.

     (I know, it's like when teenaged me and my friends realized that Jason Lee the actor is in fact also Jason Lee the pro-skateboarder from the early 90's. In the words of Neo, "Whoah".)

     So think back to Wednesday, chill out a bit, and most importantly, keep breathing.

A Sense of Gravity - Stormborn

     It's still super early in the year, but I think today's band might be taking up a lot of my listening time over the next twelve months, or ten months, or however much is left of 2014 after Travail comes out in February.

     I've seen A Sense of Gravity compared to Between the Buried and Me, but personally I hear more Protest the Hero meets death metal in the combination of riffage and vocal style. But any way you slice it, I'm intrigued by A Sense of Gravity's first outing "Stormborn" and I look forward to hearing more when Travail drops.

Trioscapes - Curse of the Ninth

     We're going to shift gears ever so slightly for this last evening of Instrumental Week. If I've spent the last six days trying to convince you that music doesn't need vocals to be badass, then tonight you're going to learn that instrumental music doesn't need to be metal to be "metal".

     I've espoused the great unifying properties of Trioscapes before, but then I was talking about getting your non-jazz friends into something jazzy. Now I'm talking about getting your non-instrumental friends into something that doesn't have any words to it. Trioscapes is the band for the job, and since I've already featured a couple of their songs before, tonight "Curse of the Ninth" is the song for the job.

     In metal influencing terms, jazz is the new classical. Back in the day classical music had a heavy influence on some of the greats of the genre (like Metallica, just to name one example) but now jazz is where it's at (take Between the Buried and Me, to again cite but a single instance). Why not check out the very groovy intersection of the metal, jazz, and instrumental worlds that is Trioscapes? You'll be glad you did.

Song of the Day: Between the Buried and Me - Lay Your Ghosts to Rest

     Just because today's Song of the Day post is a quickie doesn't mean today's song itself is. Strap yourself in people.