Between The Buried And Me/August Burns Red - Ace Of Spades, Sacramento, CA 3/16
By Jeffrey Easton
Steller musicianship is always on display when Between The Buried And Me are on stage and this time around they were augmented by the equally talented hardcore titans August Burns Red. The two bands complimented each other well. They both match the finesse they possess with their ability to play with the intensity to which the deliver, it was an unreal site to take in while show unfurled before me.
Between The Buried And Me are Dream Theater for the extreme set. Their talent matches the intensity and fire to which they write and play their material, rarely being matched by other bands. Last year they dropped one of the best albums of the year in the form of Coma Ecliptic and have been touring for it relentlessly since then. Coma Ecliptic saw them progressing further from the harsh vocals but still displaying extreme aggression all the same. I feel as though it was their most complete album to date and deserves the recognition it has received. The highlight of the evening was The Ectopic Stroll, performed at its fullest, from Coma Ecliptic. A pivotal track from Coma, it needed to be in their set as I feel it ties everything they do so well into one track. Along with Coma is a catalog that cannot be compared to anybody else, any other band. So many elements of brutal heaviness slipping seamlessly through the tracks with sheer progressive feel is something so few bands can even come close to doing but BTBAM do so well. That being said the set was matched with what worked so well together, like going back to Colors for the opening of the set with Foam Born and The Decade Of Statues and Parallax II for Telos. And for them live it’s just not the playing, it’s the presence on stage. It’s how they make it come alive with how they come across to the fans and they do that so well. One of the other highlights was going back to The Great Misdirect for Mirrors and Obsfucation, two very aggressive and surreal tracks, both augmented by the video boards the band placed sporadically on the stage. The imagery of the video boards was stark and gave more feel to the stage as they embarked on their set. This was one of the best performances to date for BTBAM and you honestly need to see them live to know what they are really about.
August Burns Red came out and completely destroyed the stage and the crowd. The aggression that was obvious during BTBAM’s set came to a complete boil during ABR. Like BTBAM, ABR have been churning it out for a long time while building a following that is as fierce as they are diehard. Out for almost a year since the dropping of their last album, Found In Faraway Places, they have been terrorizing stages everywhere and Sacramento was their next target. As soon as the lights dropped the crowd roared and the strains of Martyr consumed Ace Of Spades and the place was lit up like a battle was about to take place. One of the stand outs of the new album was that Identity was nominated for a Grammy which is a massive accomplishment for a band on a indy label and live that track blew the place apart. Found was represented very well with Majoring In The Minors, Ghosts as well as the menacing Everlasting Ending. The fans were extremely receptive to the new stuff and rightfully so as I feel it is one of the best albums, period. Having said that, their catalog is stunning in its own right never failing to deliver a massive stroke of brilliance and the set reflected that with what the band delivered. Cutting The Ties, Back Burner, Empire, White Washed, all had Ace Of Spades a massive sweaty pit and the pit sang back every word that left Jacob’s mouth. And like BTBAM, JB, Brent, Dustin and Matt are all phenomenal players and take the concept of metalcore way above what people perceive it to be. Not content with a breakdown or the simple riff, they take the hard elements and make them an off time journey. If you missed this tour, you missed a heavy awakening that everybody in attendance realized.
Official BTBAM Site
Official August Burns Red Site
By Jeffrey Easton
Steller musicianship is always on display when Between The Buried And Me are on stage and this time around they were augmented by the equally talented hardcore titans August Burns Red. The two bands complimented each other well. They both match the finesse they possess with their ability to play with the intensity to which the deliver, it was an unreal site to take in while show unfurled before me.
Between The Buried And Me are Dream Theater for the extreme set. Their talent matches the intensity and fire to which they write and play their material, rarely being matched by other bands. Last year they dropped one of the best albums of the year in the form of Coma Ecliptic and have been touring for it relentlessly since then. Coma Ecliptic saw them progressing further from the harsh vocals but still displaying extreme aggression all the same. I feel as though it was their most complete album to date and deserves the recognition it has received. The highlight of the evening was The Ectopic Stroll, performed at its fullest, from Coma Ecliptic. A pivotal track from Coma, it needed to be in their set as I feel it ties everything they do so well into one track. Along with Coma is a catalog that cannot be compared to anybody else, any other band. So many elements of brutal heaviness slipping seamlessly through the tracks with sheer progressive feel is something so few bands can even come close to doing but BTBAM do so well. That being said the set was matched with what worked so well together, like going back to Colors for the opening of the set with Foam Born and The Decade Of Statues and Parallax II for Telos. And for them live it’s just not the playing, it’s the presence on stage. It’s how they make it come alive with how they come across to the fans and they do that so well. One of the other highlights was going back to The Great Misdirect for Mirrors and Obsfucation, two very aggressive and surreal tracks, both augmented by the video boards the band placed sporadically on the stage. The imagery of the video boards was stark and gave more feel to the stage as they embarked on their set. This was one of the best performances to date for BTBAM and you honestly need to see them live to know what they are really about.
August Burns Red came out and completely destroyed the stage and the crowd. The aggression that was obvious during BTBAM’s set came to a complete boil during ABR. Like BTBAM, ABR have been churning it out for a long time while building a following that is as fierce as they are diehard. Out for almost a year since the dropping of their last album, Found In Faraway Places, they have been terrorizing stages everywhere and Sacramento was their next target. As soon as the lights dropped the crowd roared and the strains of Martyr consumed Ace Of Spades and the place was lit up like a battle was about to take place. One of the stand outs of the new album was that Identity was nominated for a Grammy which is a massive accomplishment for a band on a indy label and live that track blew the place apart. Found was represented very well with Majoring In The Minors, Ghosts as well as the menacing Everlasting Ending. The fans were extremely receptive to the new stuff and rightfully so as I feel it is one of the best albums, period. Having said that, their catalog is stunning in its own right never failing to deliver a massive stroke of brilliance and the set reflected that with what the band delivered. Cutting The Ties, Back Burner, Empire, White Washed, all had Ace Of Spades a massive sweaty pit and the pit sang back every word that left Jacob’s mouth. And like BTBAM, JB, Brent, Dustin and Matt are all phenomenal players and take the concept of metalcore way above what people perceive it to be. Not content with a breakdown or the simple riff, they take the hard elements and make them an off time journey. If you missed this tour, you missed a heavy awakening that everybody in attendance realized.
Official BTBAM Site
Official August Burns Red Site
