The more things change the more they stay the same? Maybe that isn’t quite true with the new Between the Buried and Me album “Coma Ecliptic” but it isn’t as far away from their last album “The Parallax II: Future Sequence” as I was expecting.

While “Coma Ecliptic” does seem to take a few more chances as far as melodies and more interesting mellow moments than perhaps any previous album by the band, it has the same structure as the last album. The songs all segue into each other to form a larger piece of work. I have no issues with that except that it seems like there is less to grab into than say the more defined epics of the past.

The good news is that the songs themselves on “Coma Ecliptic” don’t suffer from any of this. Songs like “Turn on the Darkness” and “The Ectopic Stroll” have some very interesting quiter guitar parts that the band have not tried before. “Rapid Calm” has the heavy riffs and harsh vocals we have come to expect but it also has an interesting synth part that’s almost New Age, before turning into almost an old school metal anthem. The band still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves.

Elsewhere, “Memory Palace” has some very Dream Theater moments before turning into yet another insane BTBAM classic (complete with a Pink Floyd like section), while “The Coma Machine” seems very Muse like when it starts out, before it goes thru some detours. This just shows that Between the Buried and Me are a special band who are really capable of just about anything. Maybe I was expecting a major departure with “Coma Ecliptic” and it really isn’t. But when you consider that the band seems to do just about everything possible on each album, maybe there is no real surprise left! Regardless of that, they have yet another fantastic album on their hands.

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist:
01. Node
02. The Coma Machine
03. Dim Ignition
04. Famine Wolf
05. King Redeem / Queen Serene
06. Turn on the Darkness
07. The Ectopic Stroll
08. Rapid Calm
09. Memory Palace
10. Option Oblivion
11. Life in Velvet

Label: Metal Blade Records
Website: www.betweentheburiedandme.com