Colors (Between the Buried and Me album)

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Colors
Studio album by
Between the Buried and Me
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2007
RecordedMay 2007
StudioBasement Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Genre
Length64:26
LabelVictory
Producer
  • Between the Buried and Me
  • Jamie King
Between the Buried and Me chronology
The Anatomy Of
(2006) 		Colors
(2007) 		Colors Live
(2008)

Colors is the fourth studio album by American progressive metalcore band Between the Buried and Me, released on September 18, 2007 through Victory Records. Although separated in 8 tracks, Colors gives the impression of one continuous song, with transitions between each part. The album was remixed and remastered in 2020. In August 2021, the band released a sequel to Colors, titled Colors II.[1]

Overview[edit]

Colors was recorded in April through May 2007 at the Basement Studios with Jamie King as the chosen producer for it. Prior to its release, it received great praise and sold 12,600 copies in its first week of release, reaching 57th on the Billboard 200, which was the first time the band reached the top 100 on the list.[2] Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, one of Between the Buried and Me's main influences, named Colors his favorite album of the year. PopMatters wrote, "A true marvel, this challenging but ultimately highly rewarding album is an example of a young band just discovering what it’s capable of. At the rate they’re going, the modern metal pantheon awaits," while Ultimate Guitar also named it "Best Album of the Year" in their annual This Year in Metal.[3]

A live DVD, titled Colors Live, was released on October 14, 2008 and includes footage from a live show on August 2, 2008 at Rocketown in Nashville, Tennessee.

The song "Prequel to the Sequel" is featured as downloadable content for the video game, Rock Band 2, though it is the radio edited version of the song, shortened to five minutes, leaving the polka verse and everything after missing.[4]

In May 2017, Between the Buried and Me announced a 10th anniversary tour of the album with The Contortionist, Polyphia, and Toothgrinder.[5]

Music[edit]

The band described the album as "adult contemporary progressive death metal".[6][7]

Dave Donnelly of AllMusic described the music of Colors as being "an anomaly on the otherwise more conservative, pop-punk and hardcore oriented Victory Records label" noting that the group "play a progressive style of extreme metal" which incorporated a range of styles.[8]

Loudwire commented about the song "Ants of the Sky": "The 13-minute track weaves in and out of demented carnival metal, psychedelic solos, smooth jazz guitar, space rock and a goddamn country hoedown… not to mention the most tear-jerkingly beautiful solo of Paul Waggoner’s career."[9]

Promotion[edit]

Two weeks before the release of Colors, the band released a series of videos for the songs. The videos consisted of clips from classic films, and each video was shown for one day before being removed. The videos were designated different colors to coincide with the album's theme, although having no known relation to the lyrics:

"Foam Born (a) The Backtrack" and "(b) The Decade of Statues" – orange
"Informal Gluttony" – green
"Sun of Nothing" – yellow
"Ants of the Sky" – red
"Prequel to the Sequel" – aqua
"Viridian" – blue
"White Walls" – purple

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[10]
AllMusic[8]
Alternative Press[11]
Blabbermouth.net9/10[12]
Exclaim!(highly favorable)[13]
PopMatters8/10[14]
Punknews.org[15]
Rock Hard7/10[16]
Sputnikmusic[17]
Ultimate Guitar(9.7/10)[18]

In 2014, Prog put Colors at #45 on their "Top 100 Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time" list commenting that "Between The Buried And Me found their range and musical mobility here. Aside from metal, it has influences from jazz and pop. It’s an album that encompasses differing styles but has an irresistible dynamic."[19] Loudwire placed the album at #7 on their "Top 100 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Albums of the 21st Century" list, saying that it was "nothing less than a complete metamorphosis of progressive metal."[20]

Kerrang named the album in their list "The 21 Best U.S. Metalcore Albums Of All Time."[6] Loudwire named it at fifth in their list "Top 25 Progressive Metal Albums of All Time."[21] ThoughtCo also named Colors in their list "Essential Progressive Metal Albums."[22]

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics are written by Tommy Rogers; all music is composed by Between the Buried and Me

No.TitleLength
1."Foam Born (A) The Backtrack"2:14
2."(B) The Decade of Statues"5:21
3."Informal Gluttony"6:48
4."Sun of Nothing"10:59
5."Ants of the Sky"13:11
6."Prequel to the Sequel"8:37
7."Viridian" (instrumental)2:52
8."White Walls"14:14
Total length:64:26

Personnel[edit]

Credits for Colors adapted from liner notes.[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Axl (June 24, 2021). "Between the Buried and Me Announce New Album Colors II". Metalsucks. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "HIM, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. September 26, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  3. ^ "This Year In Metal: 2007". Ultimate Guitar. December 24, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (October 21, 2008). "Rock Band 2 Free DLC Revealed - Xbox 360 News at IGN". Xbox Live. IGN. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  5. ^ Pasbani, Robert (May 16, 2017). "Between the Buried and Me Officially Announce Colors Tour Dates, with The Contortionist, Polyphia, Toothgrinder". Metal Injection. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Young, Simon (March 23, 2018). "The 21 Best U.S. Metalcore Albums Of All Time". Kerrang!. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  7. ^ Casagrande, Tim (March 8, 2018). "Three Shows to See this Week: Breakbot, Walk Off the Earth, Between the Buried & Me - March 8, 2018". SF Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Donnelly, Dave. "Colors – Between the Buried and Me". AllMusic. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Hartmann, Graham (September 18, 2018). "11 Years Ago: Between the Buried and Me Triumph With 'Colors'". Loudwire. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  10. ^ Bower, Chad. "Between the Buried and Me – Colors". About.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  11. ^ "Alternative Press - Between the Buried and Me : Colors Review". Altpress.com. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Blabbermouth.Net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. October 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  13. ^ Synyard, Dave (September 17, 2007). "Between the Buried and Me – Colors review". Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  14. ^ Begrand, Adrien (October 31, 2007). "Between the Buried and Me: Colors". PopMatters. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  15. ^ genebuonaccorsi (September 25, 2007). "Between The Buried And Me – Colors". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  16. ^ "Rock Hard review". issue 246.
  17. ^ "Between the Buried and Me – Colors (album review)". Sputnikmusic. September 5, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  18. ^ "Colors Review". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  19. ^ Kilroy, Hannah May; Ewing, Jerry (August 6, 2014). "The 100 Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time: 60-41". Prog Magazine. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  20. ^ "Top 100 Hard Rock + Heavy Metal Albums of the 21st Century". Loudwire. March 25, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  21. ^ Hill, John (August 2, 2017). "Top 25 Progressive Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  22. ^ Marsicano, Dan. "Best Progressive Metal Albums". LiveAbout. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  23. ^ (2007). "Colors liner notes". In Colors [CD booklet]. Victory.
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