Good luck sleeping through this one

The new release from Between the Buried and Me is an EP only in that it contains three songs. The actual running time of the disc is a solid 30 minutes, so there is still plenty of the band’s relentlessly intriguing progressive metal present.

“The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues” is the first part in a concept that will continue into the band’s next full-length album. The mysterious concept reveals itself in the lyrics, presented as a conversation between two characters known simply as Prospect #1 and Prospect #2. In true BTBAM fashion, the lyrics have an intriguing elegance to them despite the fact that they make little sense at first glance and are mostly screamed.

The music itself is some of the band’s heaviest work to date. Its trademark segues into Radiohead and Mars Volta worship are present, but they are much fewer here, and all three songs favor pummeling death metal beats and relentless screamed vocals to their more melodic elements.

Really, there is nothing not to like. The concept is intriguing, and the music is superbly executed. The wait for the full-length follow-up will be painful, indeed.