Are you completely fucking hassled into liking BTBAM? Perhaps just exhausted of all the hype and praise they adorn? OR maybe you just miss the past, when they had a simpler (less pretentious?) approach… It's not as if they weren't always complex or musically talented, we knew that as soon as we heard their impressive floor recording (I can't find the evidence that backs this up) self titled.
BTBAM has never really been guilty of putting out anything bad, nor do they fall into the category of bland or uninspiring. They demand your full attention, some songs require many listens before they no longer feel blurry or a carbon copy of the previous.
• • •
Alas, a change has been made! The Parallax II: Future Sequence wears 12 tracks proudly, more than any other previous release. A perfect harmony of longer tracks, shorter tracks and ethereal interludes comprise the colossal beast that spans around 71 minutes. We enter the parallax chambers, which apparently is a cosmic rift of progressive metal with a penchant for theatrics and eccentrics. Gone are the days of the diverse unpolished archaic bellows of Tommy (listen to "More of Myself to Kill" 00:45 - 01:15) or the NWOBHM howls in "Aspirations" (02:35) and yes even the shrieks buried under noise (listen to "Lost Perfection: Anablephobia" 02:25) that are familiarly found within ambient black metal. It's gone, all gone.
The band has obviously found their niche and they have worked hard at creating a sound they can call their own. It's very much audible, every instrument can be heard clearly in a polished and refined production that has been becoming increasingly apparent since Alaska. Is this direction a good thing? It depends who you ask.
Get it here before the parasites inevitably take it down. (320Kbps) (taken down)
(Allow me to alleviate some guilt by saying, if you really like it, pick up the CD, they are usually reasonably priced. I know, I'm the parasite.)
