Genre : Progressive metal
Released : August 20th, 2021
Label : Summerian Records
FFO : Haken, Protest the Hero, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Cryptopsy, Rush
Man oh man, where to begin with this one..
I took my time before attempting to write about this album since it's not the easiest thing to find balance between objectivity and subjectivity when dealing with your favourite band. Plus there is A LOT of music to process on this mastodon of a record. Like, almost an hour and a half worth of material that jumps in between a multitude of styles and sound palettes incessantly every few seconds.
I won't go into detail about the performances themselves and the quality of the musicianship since at this point in their career the technical proficiency of the band has already been thoroughly established from one album to another and any additional praise in that regard would kinda sound like a broken record by now.
These guys are just masters of their craft who keep finding ways to make their virtuosity original, creative and engaging to listen to.
Although, on "Colors II" one of the things that stands out the most to me is the versatility that Tommy presents on vocals throughout the record. That, along with the outlandish, at times tongue-in-cheek and retro synth work are two main elements that greatly help define the sound of this record in my opinion.
"Colors II" had set sky-high expectations among fans and for good reason.
Naming your album as the sequel to what is perhaps the turning point of your entire career, and is now forever heralded as a monument of progressive music is an extremely risky gamble. A gamble which Between the Buried and Me have successfully pulled off since not only is "Colors II" reminescent of its 2008 predecessor in terms of style, composition and conceptual thematic but it is so much more than the replica of a fan-favourite album solely for the sake of fan-service.
Now, that doesn't mean that there isn't any fan-service going on here, quite the contrary since in a certain way, one could say that the whole album itself was partly birthed from fan-service, up to its very title which originated as a kind of running gag between the fans and the band. The way in which said fan-service appears throughout the record never comes across as being overly forceful or tacky (whether it is the return of a motif or riff taken from a previous album, a lyrical callback or a conceptual element that expands on BTBAM's universe) and is made to reward long-time listeners and fans that enjoy geeking out over the various concept stories the band has created over the years and coming up with theories that tie everything together in a satisfying way which enhances the experience of listening to the band's music.
This is honestly such a good example of a band that understands their fanbase and caters to them in a fun and clever way without ever compromising their own integrity.
Simultaneously, the band incorporate a lot of the newer elements of their sound to the album, especially during the second half of the record which is much more "modern prog" oriented and heavy on synth arrangement and sound design experimentation.
On "Colors II", it truly feels like BTBAM have found a great balance between their unpredictably vicious progressive death metal dabbling in hardcore and metalcore roots and their story-telling modern prog metal that can be as bafflingly epic as it can be quirky.
The reception of the album speaks for itself : "Colors II" manages to draw in new listeners while also satisfying long-time dedicated fans and accomplishes the difficult task of surprising and keeping both parties on their toes twenty years into the band's career.
Thematically, "Colors II" does indeed feel like a sequel as it picks back up this reflection about some of the the dystopian aspects of our western societal model and the self-destructive impact that the effects of the "rat race" mentality and consumerism can have both on our individual selves and the planet we inhabit.
The original "Colors" also dealt with the sense of detachment and isolation that is borne from these societal aspects, and of course, that feeling resonates even more now after having undergone the Covid pandemic lockdowns which forced the majority of us to have way more heart-to-heart conversations with ourselves than we would have liked to or could have even anticipated.
Another major thematic element of "Colors" was this idea of the artist confronting his own mortality through his art and to a certain extent, was also a critique of the mechanisms of the music industry within which Between the Buried and Me were struggling to find their place. And as such, wrote" Colors" as this "do-or-die", "all cards on the table" statement in spite of the adversities and uncertainties they were being faced with in the heavy music industry at the time.
Thirteen years later, we find ourselves still listening to a group of uncompromising musicians who continue to write material that is so unforgivingly them while pretty much ignoring any kind of formulaic restraint or expectations. Instead, pouring their own enjoyment of the music they compose into these songs that are packed with everything that makes Between the Buried and Me such a unique and inimitable entity within the progressive metal pantheon.
The fact that this music is being distributed through a label such as Sumerian Records, which boasts an increasingly diverse roster of artists along with a continuously growing notoriety also goes to show how much the industry itself has evolved during these past thirteen years as well.
The theme of trying to come to terms with the finite nature of life remains an important one on this sequel, with a strong emphasis on the witnessing of the passage of time and the feelings of powerlessness and fear it can induce.
Yet "Colors II" has a slightly more positive outlook than its predecessor, offering moments ("Stare Into the Abyss") where solace and comfort exist in finding beauty in life regardless, whether it is within the art we create or the relationships we entertain with others during our journey through existence even though time is always creeping on us.
Perhaps the album's moral of the story (if there is one to be found) is best displayed in its closing track "Human Is Hell (Another One With Love)" which lovingly references "Colors" 's very own emblematic closer "White Walls" by urging us to never take life for granted despite its flaws and appreciate the full spectrum of colors it has to offer.
To close off this unusually lengthy album commentary, I would say that with "Colors II", Between the Buried and Me, like many artists over the past year and a half, probably found themselves in a place where they felt like they had to surpass themselves creatively speaking as a countermeasure to the sudden state of jeopardy their entire livelihood had found itself in. Add to that the fact that the band had reached another turning point in their career with the twenty year milestone being upon them, the release of "Colors II" makes perfect sense within the current societal context as well as the band's very own history.
As far as I'm concerned, "Colors II" is a near-perfect album.
I say "near-perfect" since there are a few things that I feel do not necessarily play towards the album's strength, such as its daunting run-time that can be discouraging for newcomers to the band and the fact that some of the fat could have perhaps been trimmed off during the second half to benefit the album's pace without interrupting its continuous flow.
Aside from that, "Colors II" offers an incredibly mind-boggling and thought-provoking experience that demands a certain degree of patience and dedication in order to be fully appreciated for the colossal musical achievement that it is.
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