In my opinion this band is quite simply one of the best bands in any genre of rock/alternative music. They are unbelieveable! I saw them live and while they don't move around much they are album quality all the way, precise, tight as, heavy, generally one of the best bands I've ever seen live...and I've seen alot!

I have their 4 albums (including the covers album which is cool because it proves they can pretty much play any type of music they want better than alot of the bands that composed it originally!)

Silent Circus is alot heavier on the whole and while its composed similarly it doesn't meld between death metal, ambience, blistering solos, even emo at points quite as well as Alaska does.

This album is easily in my top ten of all time. I can't even make any comparison's to another band and if you see a cd that says 'buy this if you like between the buried and me' DON'T BOTHER! its a mistake I've made and you are ALWAYS left dissapointed.

this album and their music in general delivers so much! Its heavy and techinical with guitar parts and ambient sections which are just beautiful (track 4 and track 7 are perfect examples)

If you've never heard them and you like heavy metal/death metal then i suggest you buy this NOW! I can't help agree with the review below and say you will listen never to music in the same way having listened to this album as nothing will seem as good!

I don't often write reviews, but as the previous reviewer did not go into much detail I felt compelled to throw in my tuppence!

This is not just a good album, and not just an excellent album - this album really changed the way I listened to music.

Please let me justify that statement :-)

I have recently started to appreciate listening to whole albums. It's going out of fashion (what with mp3's and media library shuffling) but I really think it is important - the band go to the trouble of writing and arranging the songs in an order, so surely they know best how to listen to it! With this new habit of mine, I am noticing that some albums - good albums - are not two-dimensional, they really move and mutate as the album plays through. Listening to one song in isolation doesn't get that organic feeling across. *This* album takes the mutation concept to new levels. It isn't just tracks that differ from each other, each song itself moves through crazily different styles... you can't get bored listening to it!

When I listen to this CD, I find it lifts me up, the music is wild-eyed and screaming, rocking between anger and ... I'm not sure, it sounds almost triumphant. But without warning, you find that it drops down to quiet reflection, and it lingers there, before pulling you back round for another go. But that really simplifies the structure too much.

I suppose I like this album because it isn't just nice proggy sounds, cool rock songs, or impressive technical metal (although it is all these things). It seems to encapsulate a whole world-view... That the moments of contemplation are all the more sublime for their contrast with frantic, angry energy. Neither of these musical styles would reach out to you if they weren't so well contrasted.

There are a lot of bands about who do the singing/screaming, thrash/melodic contrast. But after a few listens of this album, everyone else sounds like beginners :-) BtBaM really do compose beautiful, angry, melancholy, frantic music, and they don't know how to be formulaic!

I would recommend this CD to anyone who likes heavy music, but also likes to dip their toes into prog. I hope it changes your feelings about metal too.

-Zannah-

I managed to hear a copy of Alaska via a friend who came across it on soulseek and on the one listen ive had it's as good as their other 2 releases, and maybe even better. As with the Silent Circus and their S/T I'm sure the songs will come to life more and more with every listen.

If you're a fan of the other 2 albums you wont be disappointed, it has all the mixture of heaviness and melody, the frantic guitars, the melodic guitars, chaotic and solid drumming and the whole range of screaming to growling to sing-a-long vocals.

If you don't know anything about this band, but its been recommended to you by Amazon due to your other purchases then i suggest you just take a risk and try this album out. With songs that go through more time changes than should work (but they do) there is something for everyone who loves a bit of metal/grind/hard core.