Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
November 29th 2015, The Mayan, Los Angeles CA: Raleigh, North Carolina progressive metal mainstays Between The Buried And Me have never shied away from challenging themselves in creative endeavors, as proven by the ‘Parallax’ releases of 2011 and 2012, and everything they’ve done prior. After ‘Parallax’, they took upon the task of a rock opera-style concept record, and the result was their seventh full-length studio album ‘Coma Ecliptic’, released in July 2015 via Metal Blade Records. After a successful first US headline run in support of the album, Between The Buried And Me embarked upon another North American tour in November, this time with support acts Enslaved, Intronaut and Native Construct constituting an irresistible lineup for prog fans. The four bands arrived in downtown Los Angeles for a gig at the Mayan Theatre last Sunday November 29th, and it promised to be this year’s marquee event for fans of the genre.
Aptly for a Sunday show, doors opened at 6, but as ticket holders attempted to enter the theatre, they were subjected to some strange security measures, as after getting through multiple check points at the door, the under-21 crowd would be required to go to the front and lower portion of the general admission floor, and only 21-plus attendees could hang out in the back by the bar. But guess what, there were no age-specific wrist bands or markings done by the guy checking IDs at the door. Also, the so-called ‘photo pit’ was so narrow that they would have been better off not letting any photographers in there at all and allowing them to shoot only from the sides or from the crowd instead, because as a photographer I sympathised with fans occupying the front row and thus decided to spend as little time in the pit as I possibly could, because with such a narrow photo pit the photographers were completely blocking their view of the show.
On to the show, then. At 7 PM, Boston MA progressive metal group Native Construct started proceedings with a 25-minute set. Formed in 2011, this is a band comprising Berklee College students, and is a very cinematic, theatrical interpretation of prog, as was evident from this set. They got signed to Metal Blade Records in 2014 and released their debut full-length ‘Quiet World’ in 2015. There aren’t many bands that can match Between The Buried And Me in the weirdness factor, but Native Construct come as close to it as anyone ever has, with their music rooted in prog but emanating an atmosphere very similar to that of film scores. By the time their set ended, the crowd was still trying to grasp the music but gave the band a positive response throughout the performance. Native Construct have announced their arrival as an intriguing new entity in the world of prog, and will certainly land upon more ears and eyes as they tour more.
Set List:
01. Mute
02. Come Hell Or High Water
03. Your Familiar Face
04. Passage
Next up, Los Angeles’ very own prog masters Intronaut took the stage at 7:45 for a 4-song, 30-minute set comprising solely of material from their fifth LP ‘The Direction of Last Things’, released earlier in 2015 via Century Media. On their first tour since the release of the album, it made sense for Intronaut to do this as an opening act wherein they were playing in front of a largely new audience. But it was a not-so-pleasant surprise that ‘The Pleasant Surprise’, the fastest, heaviest and most concise song on the new album, was left out of the set, because it would have been right up the alley for Enslaved and Between The Buried And Me fans alike. Besides, frontman Sacha Dunable attempting to address the audience before the fourth and last song while a very loud intro sample was being played on the PA didn’t seem to make any sense either, and I couldn’t hear a word of what he was saying. The biggest drawback, though, was the quality of the front-of-house mix, which was by far at its worst during Intronaut’s set, as the sound was muddy at best and the vocals in particular echoed far too much. Regardless, this material is some of the finest work Intronaut have done as a band, and sans these uncharacteristic issues in the remaining shows on this tour, Intronaut are bound to leave a lasting positive impression on fans of the bands that play after them.
Set List:
01. Fast Worms
02. Digital Gerrymandering
03. City Hymnal
04. Sul Ponticello
Between 8:35 and 9:25, the Mayan was turned into a religious instituion as Norwegians Enslaved orchestrated a performance of godly proportions. They clearly drew a large number of their fans to this gig, some of them even departing the venue as soon as the band was done. For their 6-song set, Enslaved retained four songs from the US headline tour they did earlier this year, and added two songs off of the 2008 effort ‘Vertebrae’, an album they’ve rarely delved into on recent tours. They did not face any of the front-of-house sound issues that Intronaut did and their collective output as well as that of each individual member penetrated the room with maximum strength. Also, the lighting patterns that accompanied their music were hands down the best amongst the four bands that played this show, the strobes in particular flickering brilliantly in sync with the fast-paced black metal segments of the music. The strobe faced the audience and was so adundant that it was really easy for people in the crowd to take their “hey look, I’m at a concert” selfies without using flash. Plus, Enslaved also garnered the most violent mosh pits of the evening.
Enslaved visit Los Angeles at least once a year, and come with a newer, stronger set each time. It is nearly impossible to find any flaws in their performances these days, or in anything they do, for that matter. Perhaps the only thing I could pinpoint is the continued absence of the ‘In Times’ song ‘One Thousand Years Of Rain’, which absolutely needs to be played live before the end of the album’s touring cycle. Other than that, Enslaved completely dominated this show and there was no chance of any band topping what they did. In addition to their sonic supremacy, the sheer stage presence of protagonists Grutle Kjelson (lead vocals, bass), Ivar Bjornson (guitar, vocals) and Arve Isdal (guitar) was unmatchable. Opeth successfully headlined over Enslaved at the Avalon in 2009, but in 2015, this is a very different and far more advanced Enslaved. Their black metal parts are infinitely more brutal than any and every Satan-worshipping black metal band on the planet, but the beauty of Enslaved is in their dynamism, and they have taken the mellow and heavy segments of their music to such extremes, at this point of their career they are eating all other prog and black metal bands for breakfast. This Enslaved set was, in every sense, an overwhelmingly mind-blowing experience.
Set List:
01. Fusion Of Sense And Earth
02. Building With Fire
03. Death In The Eyes Of Dawn
04. Ground
05. The Watcher
06. Convoys To Nothingness
And shortly after, headliners Between The Buried And Me hit the stage for a full 90-minute set comprising three tunes off of ‘Coma Ecliptic’ and selections from the ‘Parallax’ (1 and 2), ‘The Great Misdirect’, ‘Colors’ and ‘Alaska’ albums. For starters, allow me to state that I despise the way fans announce this band’s name (bee-tee-bam) and I refuse to ever do so. In all fairness, it has to be pointed out that when perceived as a follow-up to Enslaved, Between The Buried And Me didn’t turn out to be anywhere near as enjoyable as expected, or as much as they normally are as headliners, and their music is certainly not for Enslaved fans as their weirdness and eccentricity gets hugely amplified in comparison to Enslaved’s music and not in a good way. But when judged solely based on their own set and nothing else, the impression Between The Buried And Me left here was an entirely different story.
The music on ‘Coma Ecliptic’ has taken Between The Buried And Me into operatic territory as a live band, and there is none better to demonstrate this on stage than vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers, who shows no signs of stopping or stagnating, not only when it comes to exploring and expanding his vocal range but also enhancing his stage presence further every time. His bandmates were flawless in their respective roles, and the quality of the sound in the theatre did justice to the grand, multi-layered nature of the band’s music. Besides the three ‘Coma Ecliptic’ tunes, they succeeded in picking the right songs from the back catalog to fit perfectly with the new material and the set almost seemed like a single album played in its entirety, such was its ease of flow. They also employed the visual aspect of artwork being projected on four vertically inclined panels placed in the stage backdrop.
It was most likely not a sold-out show but the turnout was great, but more importantly for Between The Buried And Me’s performance, the fans were very receptive, as the tension that was building through the quieter mellow segments led to violent outbursts and mosh pits when Rogers’ growls kicked in to signal the onset of the heavy parts. The band ended the main set with ‘Fossil Genera’, but demands for an encore were loud and clear, and they returned to satiate fans with an additional two-song treat. One thing Between The Buried And Me do have in common with Enslaved is the predicament that they consistently outdo their previous efforts as a live act on every tour, and this was no different, as despite the absence of the fan-favorite ‘White Walls’, this performance transcended the band to altitudes higher than ever before.
All in all, this was undoubtedly the prog event of 2015, and anyone in North America even remotely a fan of the sub-genre must attend a show on this tour.
Photos:
Related: Dan Briggs (Between The Buried And Me) Interview
Set List:
01. The Coma Machine
02. Informal Gluttony
03. Sun Of Nothing
04. Backwards Marathon
05. Turn On The Darkness
06. The Ectopic Stroll
07. Fossil Genera – A Feed from Cloud Mountain
Encore:
08. Silent Flight Parliament
09. Goodbye To Everything Reprise
Remaining Tour Dates:
12/01 – Livewire – Scottsdale, AZ
12/02 – Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
12/03 – Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX
12/04 – Lonestar Pavilion – Lubbock, TX
12/05 – Aztec Theater – San Antonio, TX
12/06 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
12/08 – Center Stage – Atlanta, GA
12/10 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON
12/11 – Bronson Centre – Ottowa, ON
12/12 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
12/13 – Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
12/14 – Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
12/15 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
12/16 – Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
12/17 – Fillmore – Charlotte, NC
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