Between The Buried And Me – Dan Briggs

Hailing from North Carolina, Between The Buried and Me are the true embodiment of experimental death metal. The band continue their conceptual celestial voyage with the release of their new album, ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence’, a continuation of the 2011 release, ‘The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues’.

Metal Obsession had a quick chat with Between The Buried and Me bassist, Dan Briggs about the band’s latest release.

Metal Obsession: Tommy seems to have a preference for clean vocals on the newer releases, is there are any reason for that shift?

Dan Briggs: It’s just what felt most natural I guess. I’m glad, I listen to more music that is melodic than not. There’s obviously a place for it in our music, but everything’s more fun I feel like when the music moves into a melodic direction because it means we get to have more fun with layers in the studio, vocal harmonies, the conceptual aspect of writing with melodic themes makes more sense.

MO: What drew you guys to PRS guitars after primarily using Ibanez in the earlier releases?

DB: Paul and Dustie just really loved the guitars. They’re beautiful, who can fault them?! I have one as well, so I can attest to how great they are.

MO: What’s your writing process, do you write to a style?

DB: No, I just write what feels most natural and usually it ends up being kind of wacky. “Bloom” is an example of something I wrote in one night, just a wild stream of concious song. It ended up being a pretty zany song and one of my favorites.

MO: With so much progression, do you get conflicting ideas?

DB: Sometimes, but we’re so good at recognizing it and really honing in on what’s best for the song, which always makes things run smoother. We just get better and better each record at writing and arranging, it’s really important that we are always growing in that regard.

MO: What direction is the band heading in?

DB: No idea! I’m excited to see. I’ve written a lot since we left the studio, but only a few small things for Between The Buried And Me. I’m working on a piece that’s very analogue snyth driven, I’m excited to get home and work on it some more and see where it goes.

MO: You’ve exploded world-wide, are there any goals left for you to achieve?

DB: Oh of course, we’ve never been to South America and we hope to get there next year. We haven’t been to Mexico in a few years, which really is sad. We always have goals and things we want to achieve.

MO: What were your thoughts once you realised the group had serious potential? (and when was it?)

DB: I mean, I loved the band before I joined, so..we’ve just been pleasantly surprised as the years have gone on, we’re constantly grateful for everything good that happens for the band.

MO: How long ago did you leave your day jobs?

DB: My last job was before I joined the band, when I was 20 in 2004. I worked at an arcade inside an indoor water park while I was in college. It was a pretty fun job actually!

MO: Do you find it hard to stay fresh with song ideas?

DB: Nope, never. Especially having so many different outlets for creating new music. I have BTBAM, ORBS, Trioscapes, and I always have an excess of music that is just for who knows what in the future. I love writing with new people and hope to have a million different outlets.

MO: Where do your song ideas and themes come from?

DB: Celestial voyages throughout the farthest realms of the galaxy.

MO: How much of your time is spent dedicated to answering media questions?

DB: A lot lately [laughs]. But it’s ok, we must’ve done something right with our new record to have brought about so much media attention so I don’t really mind it!

MO: Why have you continues music after so many years?

DB: Because if I weren’t doing this I’d probably just be dead. This is why I’m here, this is what I’m supposed to do.

MO: Any famous last words?

DB: Thanks for the interview, looking forward to getting back over to Australia in November.

 

Between The Buried and Me‘s latest celestial experience, ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence is now available via Metal Blade Records and Riot! Entertainment.  Make sure to catch Between The Buried and Me in Australia this November with support from Animals as Leaders.

Tickets on sale now!

Tuesday 13 November – Amplifier Bar, Perth (18+)
Wednesday 14 November – Fowlers, Adelaide (Lic/AA)
Thursday 15 November – The Zoo, Brisbane (18+)
Friday 16 November – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (18+) SOLD OUT!!!
Saturday 17 November – The Metro, Sydney (18+)