Between the Buried And Me – Colors_Live DVD/CD

I have to be honest here. Up until this live CD/DVD set I hadn’t given Between The Buried And Me a fair listen. That’s ridiculous considering I’m a huge fan of the Progressive genre. I noticed these guys toured with Dream Theater and Opeth on the Progressive Nation ‘08 Tour and figured I’d give them a thorough listen. I picked up this live CD/DVD at Hot Topic for $11.99.

The band plays straight through the Colors (2007) album in front of a live crowd at Rocketown in Nashville, Tennessee.

Let’s get into the overall quality of the DVD itself.

Audio:

Even after switching through different settings on my receiver I heard no problems or bad levels in the recording mix. I’m by no means an expert, but I sure as hell know a good recording when I hear one. This qualifies. Usually I keep a honed ear on the guitar player’s tone, especially when he or she enters in and out of leads or changes effects. No awkward switching and no strange peaks or bad tone here. The vocals were clear during both the screaming and clean melodic sections, so good that it makes me think Auto-Tune was on the scene. Just kidding. The drums were also clear and precise. The cymbals never became overwhelming like on some live shows. The bass player did get smothered occasionally by the drummer, especially the kick drum. I don’t have a super duper high-end A/V setup, so that might be part of the problem. Even the crowd had some shining moments throughout. Great audio production!

Video:

Wow, this is like watching eye candy! The picture is stunning. A fantastic mix of stationary and moving cameras throughout the show. What I like best about this particular production is that it focuses on the musicians more than the whole experience, i.e. the crowd. If you are a guitar player you’ll enjoy the constant fretboard shots. If you’re a vocalist and front man you’ll enjoy the stage presence and energy. If you’re a drummer you’ll appreciate the fantastic skill. If you’re a bass player you too will enjoy plenty of fretboard action and some new moves to try on stage. This truly is fun to watch.

Musicianship:

As a guitar teacher, I like to focus on the skillset and musicianship levels of folks who have achieved this level of success. These guys really have it together musically. Everything is there. It will be obnoxiously in-your-face for a good seven minutes but turn around and warm you to the core with some epic chorus like in Ants of the Sky. The guitar players are clean and precise. The vocalist is multi-talented. The drummer is incredible. The bass player is refreshing to hear in a metal band. Kudos guys.

Overall:

I truly think this is one of the best live performances I’ve watched from a band in this genre. For roughly $12 it’s absolutely worth it and an essential addition to any progressive rock/metal fan’s library. A numerical rating doesn’t apply here…just go buy the damn thing.

Set 1:

1. “Foam Born (a): The Backtrack”
2. “Foam Born (b): The Decade of Statues”
3. “Informal Gluttony”
4. “Sun of Nothing”
5. “Ants of the Sky”
6. “Prequel to the Sequel”
7. “Viridian”
8. “White Walls”

Set 2:

1. “Aesthetic/Alaska” (Not present on the DVD)
2. “Mordecai”
3. “Shevanel Cut a Flip”
4. “Backwards Marathon”
5. “Ad a Dglgmut”
6. “Aspirations”
7. “Selkies: The Endless Obsession”