After 10 wildly eclectic albums, Between The Buried And Me are changing tack with In The Blue Nowhere. The record is set in a fictional hotel where the best and worst of humanity can be found as a gradient of genres conveys its chaos and calm, making for their brightest and boldest record to date. Tommy Rogers and Dan Briggs tell Prog about their latest release..
Variety has fuelled Between The Buried And Me’s ever-changing, ever-weird and perpetually progressive sound for 25 years. The North Carolina group started life with death metal coursing through their veins, but even then a love for strange and expansive music added different shades to their palette. With each release, the balance between the two has shifted.
On 11th album The Blue Nowhere vocalist Tommy Rogers has redefined his approach to concept albums while each instrumentalist plays off his colleagues’ polarities with aplomb. “We’ve always had juxtaposition from member to member,” explains bassist Dan Briggs. “Whether that’s writing melodic prog and having Tommy scream over it like we did back in the day, or me bopping over a heavy part like I’m in Tears For Fears.”
“I think a lot of people will write a riff and have an idea of how the song needs to be for every other instrument,” Rogers says. “We know each member will do what feels right in their lane, and it’ll bring new life to the music.
“When you listen to us you sometimes don’t know what’s coming next – it’s like that when we’re writing. There are so many songs that when I go to work on vocals I’m like, ‘How the fuck am I gonna write to this?’”
Named after the fictional hotel in which it’s set, The Blue Nowhere doesn’t offer a traditional narrative arc; but it’s still very much conceptual, and the bulding’s walls double as a magnifying glass for Rogers’ explorations of “the things that define human existence.”
He explains: “I’ve had this obsession for writing about a hotel over the years. I remember being in Japan one time – I had jet lag and it was the middle of the night. I was sitting in this hotel room looking out the window, hyper-aware of everything around me; but I felt like a ghost, like I wasn’t part of anything. It was so weird.
“I felt like this album lived in a place where things are constantly changing. I wanted to encapsulate the human experience: all the bizarre quirks and instincts we have that can be horrible and good at the same time. And in the end, we’re all trying to find this peaceful place, which is The Blue Nowhere.”
In BTBAM’s music, country hoedowns, 80s synth-driven prog and guttural metal can all share the same spaces. That means Rogers has quite the canvas to draw from lyrically. But this time, he pivoted away from his usual approach. “Normally I storyboard an album and write around it. But I wanted to see how I felt naturally after listening to these songs one at a time, envisioning, ‘Where in the hotel did this take place?’
“I knew Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark was a very bold, confident song. It’s really about the complexity of being an asshole – power and corporate greed. It’s told from the perspective of a person at the hotel bar that thinks the world revolves around them. God Terror then deals with cults and religion; it’s more violent.
“Things have happened within the story that weren’t planned. I’d write in 20-minute bursts, then I’d put my pen down and I wouldn’t come back to that song for weeks. It allowed stories to blossom that were very chaotic, peaceful and journey-seeking.”
The Blue Nowhere’s orgy of technicality gives the impression of a band who laboured over their material for an eternity – but the pair say writing was swift. Each musician presented ideas, which were twisted into different forms by their bandmates. Ideas evolved quickly: in 2025, the BTBAM machine is well-oiled.
“After we’d shown our hands, we had the basis of the record pretty early,” says Briggs. “We’re very album-focused as songwriters; always thinking of interconnectivity between songs. It really helps you weave in and out of tracks – you start hearing vibes, like, ‘That would be a really interesting juxtaposition to this...’ Or, ‘Because of the key centre, these two songs could go together...’ That’s what happened with Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark and God Terror.
“With Psychomanteum, Paul Waggoner sent his original version, and referred to it as a ‘riff salad.’ So I grabbed an acoustic and started getting my hands around all these fucked-up angular riffs, and naturally my ears started hearing something new. I’m digesting this song, not knowing that Blake Richardson is also doing a spin on it.
I knew if I went full Van Halen it’d be too silly. I was trying to find that middle ground where the vocals counteract the craziness but also push it along
Tommy Rogers
”Blake’s version was so much more succinct. I was like, ‘Man, I like what you did there – and then these new parts I wrote really add a new dimension.’ The song ended up being 12 minutes long!”
With frequent stylistic jerks combined with a dizzying array of moving parts, what’s their secret to balanced songwriting? “If it got to the point where something was way over the top, I think we’d all instantly know,” says Rogers. “With Absent Thereafter, especially, there are so many tonal shifts, but they’re always tied to this country theme.
“Blake put the honky-tonk piano in there and I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work…’ – but it’s cool ear candy. You’re listening to heavy guitars and you’re like, ‘Is that a fucking honky-tonk piano?’”
Briggs observes: “Whether it’s Prince, Sparks or whatever, we all love records that are loaded up with little shimmers, orchestral moments and things that make us laugh. Absent Thereafter has this really propulsive energy, but even when the dynamic comes down later in the song, it’s still got a lot of movement. I also think Blake was on a big Van Halen high: we’re always looking to tap into a certain energy or quirk.”
Rogers cuts in: “That was one of the songs I was most stressed about – I knew if I went full Van Halen it’d be too silly. I was trying to find that middle ground where the vocals are interesting enough to counteract with all the craziness in the music, but also push it along and make it the song’s powerhouse, which it wanted to be.”
Every album we’ll have this burst of ideas – it just explodes. That’s because we have so many active arrangers and composers
Dan Briggs
Second guitarist Dustie Waring’s split from the group in 2023 was rather acrimonious. Waring, who had proved an increasingly peripheral figure, has since threatened a lawsuit over the manner of his dismissal. The Blue Nowhere is their first release without him since 2003’s The Silent Circus – but in the writing room it was business as usual.
“Nothing has changed,” Rogers says. “We didn’t approach it any differently.”
BTBAM won’t follow the example of fellow prog metal peers Mastodon, who have replaced the fire (and later tragically killed) Brent Hinds. “Between the four of us, there’s already too much music!” Briggs laughs. “I don’t often think about how unique our situation is.
“Every album we’ll have this burst of ideas – it just explodes. That’s because we have so many active arrangers and composers. Shrinking ideas has been the hardest thing.
“I remember the genesis of Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark – over a weekend there was an intro, verse, chorus, and a jumping-off point for verse two. There was just a fucking vibe happening. I don’t know what we tapped into. Maybe we’re just freaks!”
The Blue Nowhere is on sale now via Century Media.
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