is a thinking man's hardcore unit hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band began in 2000 after the dissolution of vocalist
.
. An eponymous debut soon appeared, issued through the German indie Lifeforce, and the band supported its release with an avid tour schedule.
signed with Chicago hardcore powerhouse Victory in the summer of 2002 and began work on their debut for the label.
appeared in late October of the following year and showcased a more focused fusion of the group's math rock, heavy metal, and post-hardcore influences.
Several lineup changes ensued that saw
Rogers and
Waggoner being rounded out by guitarist
Dusty Waring, bassist
Dan Briggs, and drummer
Blake Richardson. Joining forces with producer
Jamie King, who had recorded their self-titled effort,
Between the Buried and Me released
Alaska in September 2005. Various tour dates with the Dillinger Escape Plan,
Every Time I Die,
Bleeding Through, and
Haste the Day followed. The band next paid tribute to many of their influences -- from
Pantera to
Queen to
Pink Floyd -- on the covers album
The Anatomy Of, which surfaced in June 2006, before hitting the road on a subsequent headlining tour. That fall, Victory reissued
The Silent Circus with an additional bonus DVD of material. In 2007, they went to the studio with producer Jamie King and recorded Colors, which was released that September through Victory Records and described as "new wave polka grunge" by the band.
The Great Misdirect, the band's fifth studio album, appeared two years later. Victory put out a
Between the Buried and Me greatest-hits album in 2011, just weeks before the band released their first EP on Metal Blade, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, the first entry in a two-part concept album. The second part, The Parallax II: Future Sequence, followed in 2012.
–
Johnny Loftus, Rovi