Now that progressive extreme metal darlings Between the Buried and Me have jumped ship to the greener pastures of Metal Blade Records, former label Victory Records have released (ironically, basically at the same time as BtBaM's debut for Metal Blade The Parallax Hypersleep Dialogues) this 3 disc Best Of collection, showcasing many of the best songs from their catalog with Victory. Despite the immediate 'cash grab' feeling of all of this, Best Of sure does contain a host of material that lets anyone new to band hear the brilliance of Between the Buried and Me.
Whether it's the calming, proggy "Mirrors", the progressive extreme metal of "Moredecai", the bludgeoning death metal-meets-hardcore fury of "Ad A Dglgmut", the blazing guitar rock of "Alaska", or the out and out genius of "Obfuscation" or "White Walls", Between the Buried and Me have gotten to where they are because of their ability to create jaw dropping, complex progressive metal that is both catchy and crushingly brutal. Not only does this compilation feature some of their best songs from throughout their Victory discography, but there are also a few live tracks ("Selkies" is quite good here) as well as a bonus DVD with a few music videos.
If you are new to Between the Buried and Me, this is a good way to get a sampling of what they are all about, but heed my words, you'll soon be wanting to explore each and all of their fantastic CDs to get the full effect of their music.
Track Listing
Disc 1
1.Moredecai
2.Ad A Dglgmut
3.Aesthetic
4.Shevanel Take 2
5.Alaska
6.Selkies: The Endless Obession
7.All Bodies
8.Backwards Marathon
9.Foam Born A: The Backtracak
10.Foam Born B: The Decade Of Statues
11.Prequel To The Sequel
12.Virdian
13.White Walls
DISC 2
1.Mirrors
2.Obfuscation
3.Moredecai (Live)
4.Shevanel Cut A Flip (Live)
5.Backwards Marathon (Live)
6.Ad A Dglgmut (Live)
7.Selkies: The Endless Obession (Live)
DVD
1.Moredecai (Music Video)
2.Alaska (Music Video)
3.Obfuscation (Music Video)
4.Synesthesia (Colors: Companion Film)