Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Between the Buried and Me - The Blue Nowhere (2025)
If you thought Colors II was the most anticipated BTBAM album, that would then be surpassed by this one, The Blue Nowhere! The album came out last September after a long 4-year interval. It is partly due to their separation from longtime rhythm guitarist Dustie Waring. After finding out about some sexual abuse allegations towards him in 2023, the band began touring without him. The allegations were proven false, and Waring suspected that it was all part of an extortion plot against him, as well as his firing being for unworthy reasons. With that, he threatened to sue the band. Long story short, the matter dropped and the band continued with a touring replacement in Tristan Auman. Waring was pretty much almost as salty as Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds was after his departure from that band (before Hinds' tragic death, RIP). For this album, The Blue Nowhere, founding lead guitarist Paul Waggoner performed all the guitarwork by himself. It takes a real music examiner to tell the difference between Waggoner's rhythm guitar playing and that of Waring. Either way, although there can be some slight predictability that made me burned out of BTBAM in the first place years ago, we have another terrific display of the band's deathly progressive metal/rock that they've mastered since Colors.
Keeping up their conceptual tendencies that they had since Colors, the album is set in the eponymously titled hotel The Blue Nowhere. It dives into existential quandaries in a more abstract form of storytelling, as abstract as that Star Wars Visions short "BLACK". Those lyrics are, as usual, sung and growled by vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers, and they take on thoughts that range from fleeting to chaotic. They're not about the story, but rather about the feeling. As you listen, you can imagine yourself in your own world away from reality, one that only you and no one else would know.
"Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark" opens the album as both the first track and single. It's one of the most enjoyable tracks in years. It kickstarts the album right away without an intro, and doesn't follow the heaviness of the two Colors albums, but instead the wackiness of the albums in between. The song has a modern take on 80s prog, blending those bouncy hooks with doses of technical chaos. And the vocal interplay really heats it up. Then the band goes more industrial in "God Terror". The riffs, vocals, and percussion leans into something Pitchshifter would do. "Absent Thereafter" is the first of three 11-minute epics, and boy does it hit hard! It sounds so heavy while adding in some funk and other genres. It's basically almost this album's equivalent to "Ants of the Sky" and "Disease, Injury, Madness"!
"Pause" is an aptly titled pause from the action with just synthy ambience and soft yet mysterious singing from Rogers. "Door #3" has darker groove and more mental-sounding vocals by Tommy. All this makes the sound like a demented carnival. Also while I enjoy his occasional falsetto, it can be a little annoying when appearing out of nowhere. I guess that's one reason why I can't add that half-star needed for the album's perfect score. "Mirador Uncoil" is one more short interlude. I don't have much to say about that one. The second 11-minute epic "Psychomanteum" has fun energy. When Tommy Rogers bellows the song title "PSYCHOMANTEUM" at the two-minute mark, that really hit me hard, along with the h*lla heavy riffing less than a minute later. A minute after that, the extremeness is lowered down for some soft beauty. That goes on for a couple minutes, rising up to a brief wacky moment of drums, piano, and vocals. Some of that heavy riffing hits less than a minute later, heavier than the earlier riffing. Nearly a couple minutes after that, the soft beauty comes back in the form of Opeth-like ambience and guitar fiddling by Paul Waggoner, followed by more of that beautiful mood.
"Slow Paranoia" is the last 11-minute epic. As much as I enjoy this one though, I start to realize how self-copied it is. It's still wonderful, yet some sections sound like they've been done to death. That track can appear in any of the band's past albums, and no one would bat an eye or ear. With that, while this album won't reach a perfect 5-star rating from me, the 4.5-star rating is still intact. This is especially the case for these final two tracks that should've just been indexed as a two-part 14-minute suite, probably greater than the epics from the previous few albums (Coma Ecliptic, Automata, Colors II), starting with the title track. It's one of the catchiest and most radio-friendly songs by the band, like a classic-sounding ballad that I actually love. Other progressive metal artists that would do that are Devin Townsend and Haken. "Beautifully Human" ends it all by reflecting on everything the band has had here, all in the guitars, keys, vocals (both clean and harsh). Thus concludes another journey on a high note!
The Blue Nowhere can very well attract newcomers to the world of BTBAM. It can also impress longtime fans, though a little more originality would've been ideal to make this album 100% percent and get me back onboard that train. Excellent but too familiar, like having fast-food two or 3 times per week (eat healthy, kids and adults!). Nonetheless, BTBAM have made their excellent comeback, even after cutting ties with one of their longtime members. I don't know what will come next for them, but I can't wait!
Favorites: "Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark", "Absent Thereafter", "Psychomanteum", "The Blue Nowhere", "Beautifully Human"