Between the Buried and Me "Automata I" Review

          Fans got quite a shock earlier at the beginning of 2018 when Between the Buried and Me announced this year they would release not one, but two albums, appropriately titled “Automata I” and “Automata II”. The later of which is set to be released March 9th through the long standing Sumerian Records, a label renowned for its roster. With “Automata I” being so close to release, it's time we delve in and discover what's to come!

“Automata I” kicks off with the first single from the album, “Condemned to the Gallows”. If somehow you missed it (click here for the song) the track is instantly catchy. With a softer intro to ease you into the punishing Progressive Death Metal that's on its way. The first half of the album with what you’ve heard in “Condemned to the Gallows” is pretty similar, Extreme Metal at some of is finest, the first half specifically is much closer to the early days of BTBAM with few and far between exceptions.

If you're more attuned with the band's more recent release “Coma Ecliptic”, you'll appreciate the track “Millions”, which has a much softer and more Jazz oriented sound to it. “Millions” has a very consistent sound, letting the vocals push it along with the only main changes being the switch from clean to distorted guitar, if you're just getting into BTBAM because you're a fan of Sumerian’s roster, this might be a good place to start. Personally, I think “Millions” will be a song best experienced in a live setting, having band and fans alike singing along to the chorus “Millions fly overhead…” but we will have to wait for the band's upcoming headliner in March to figure out for sure.

          “Gold Distance”, which is a short instrumental track, and “Blot” close out the first part of “Automata” and instantly you get introduced to what is probably the heaviest track on the record. “Blot” is one of those songs where you realise that BTBAM listen to what their fans have been saying, the song is much more along the lines of what you would hear from “Colors” and the earlier albums from BTBAM. Maintaining heavy and progressive riffs from beginning to end, the song refuses to back down right to the end and based on the ending you can tell that the album will lead directly into “Automata II” without the skip of a beat. Until then, the album loops back to the beginning and you can enjoy it all again.