5 Things We Love About Between the Buried and Me's New Album, 'The Blue Nowhere'

Here are five things we love about Between the Buried and Me's new album, The Blue Nowhere!

Every Between the Buried and Me LP arrives with high expectations, yet with The Blue Nowhere, both the band and their fans know that it signifies more than just another BTBAM record.

Sure, it’s their first studio sequence since 2021’s Colors II, but it’s also their first one without former guitarist Dustie Waring since 2003’s The Silent Circus (for reasons) and – perhaps most importantly – it’s their first one ever as a quartet. Thus, the remaining members (vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers, guitarist Paul Waggoner, bassist Dan Briggs and drummer Blake Richardson) needed to demonstrate that they could carry on perfectly fine as a foursome.

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Thankfully, they absolutely do, as The Blue Nowhere is another characteristically compelling and eccentric record whose songwriting, performances and non-narrative concept (revolving around isolation and existentialism) prove that they’ve lost little – if anything – with the absence of Waring. (To be clear, that’s not meant to undermine the ex-guitarist’s importance on prior releases, but rather to praise the quartet for retaining so much of their special modern sound.)

There are many reasons to celebrate the band’s latest LP and in anticipation of when everyone will get to hear it on Friday, Sept. 12, we hope you'll join us as we discuss the five things we love most about Between the Buried and Me’s new album: The Blue Nowhere!

5 Things We Love About BTBAM’s New Album, The Blue Nowhere

1. "Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark" Is an Awesome Opener

Fans got their initial taste of The Blue Nowhere back in June of 2025, when album opener “Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark” was issued as a single. It was an awesome first glimpse into what the crew were concocting and it works even better within the context of the collection.

Kicking off funky rhythms, playful guitar licks, zany keys and winding melodies, it evokes the warmer and more colorful vibes of 2009’s The Great Misdirect and 2015’s Coma Ecliptic but with an additional layer of 1980 synth-led prog/pop rock (in the vein of Yes and Rush).

Naturally, Rogers remains equally adept at juxtaposing sing-along clean sentiments with guttural interruptions and, overall, the group continues to provide engrossing yet strange and complex arrangements that go to unexpected places but flow with silky smooth purpose.

The intersecting instrumentation and vocal counterpoints near the end are particularly fascinating – conjuring the interlocking trickery of Haken, Gentle Giant and Echolyn – and in general, “Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark” sets up the rest of the trip extremely well.

Between the Buried and Me, "Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark"

2. "The Blue Nowhere" Is Their Catchiest Song Ever

Speaking of Haken, the title track of The Blue Nowhere essentially combines quintessential BTBAM traits with the melodic richness of the English troupe and the life-affirming guitarwork and strings of modern Devin Townsend. Consequently – and unless I’m mistaken – it’s their first track ever without any metal elements and while its radio-friendly simplicity might be controversial for longtime followers, even they will probably admit that “The Blue Nowhere” takes the crown as BTBAM’s catchiest and most beautifully contemplative song.

Rogers’ dreamy synths coat Waggoner’s soaring guitarwork and bittersweet acoustic guitar arpeggios at the start, immediately gearing listeners up for a gorgeously introspective ride. Those features – alongside the steady support of Richardson and Briggs – maintain their magic as Rogers’ grippingly poignant verses unfold. That said, the heart of the piece is its irresistibly enthralling chorus (“Wander alone / Held by our own / Time… is the chemical / Searching / Lost and synthetic / When we see it / When we feel it / Equilibrium”).

Seriously, just try not belting out every word alongside him. Can’t do it? Yeah, neither can we.

Between the Buried and Me, "The Blue Nowhere"

3. It Comes Full Circle at the End

Between the Buried and Me albums are known for repeating lyrical and/or musical themes as they wrap up (or at least ending with a profound sense of finality). The Blue Nowhere does both with “Beautifully Human,” a relatively epic and emotional reflection on what’s transpired – and what’s to come – that’ll subtly but rewardingly brings the LP full circle.

How? By referencing the title and sentiments of the opening tune.

You see, “Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark” includes the following line: “To all the old egos we’ve sold… How / Does it grow? / Marigold.” Taking both the name and chorus of that song into consideration, it’s obviously very cool to have Rogers begin “Beautifully Human” by requesting, “Don’t let me wake up / Marigold” and end by reflecting, “As it is / What it was / Things we tell ourselves in the dark.”

True, it’s not the full-on mirror image that we got with the one-two punches of The Parallax II’s “Silent Flight Parliament” and "Goodbye to Everything (Reprise)" or Coma Ecliptic’s  “Option Oblivion” and “Life in Velvet,” but it’s still a thrilling way to give The Blue Nowhere greater connectivity and meaning.

4. There Are So Many Characteristically Weird Moments

If there’s one thing that distinguishes a BTBAM LP from what their stylistic contemporaries are doing, it’s their love of injecting a lot of strangeness into their technical anarchy and gorgeous catharsis. The Blue Nowhere is no exception since it offers at least a handful of unexpectedly odd elements.

Take, for instance, the electrifying Colors-esque hoedown, explosive horns and batty Rogers accent within “Absent Thereafter.” Elsewhere, “God Terror” incorporates a Dream Theater-like synth breakdown; “Pause” and “Mirador Uncoil” serve as uncomfortably surreal segues; and “Door #3” launches into a romantic European detour.

There are even more idiosyncratically weird moments to discover (some of which may intentionally or unintentionally remind you of other past BTBAM classics) and we don’t want to spoil all of them. Suffice it to say, though, that anyone hoping to hear the peculiar side of BTBAM’s progressive metal brilliance should be satisfied.

Between the Buried and Me, "Absent Thereafter"

5. It Proves That BTBAM Can Continue as a Quartet

Given all those aforementioned qualities, it’s fair to say that the main thing to love about The Blue Nowhere is simply that it sounds like Between the Buried and Me.

Now, you’d be justified to ask, “Who else would it sound like?”

However,  as every rock and metal fan knows, a change in lineup too often results in a change in style and an inability to recapture what worked so well about a band’s golden period. Luckily, that’s not the case here because the quartet (and Waggoner, in particular) do all they can to make Waring’s absence undetectable to everyone except perhaps the most diehard BTBAM devotees who’ve studied the differences between the two guitarist’s methodologies.

In other words, the fact that BTBAM are now a quartet is more important for behind-the-scenes context than it is for how The Blue Nowhere turned out. It’s not their best record to date, but its ceaseless ability to retain the group’s singular personality and craftsmanship means that it’s precisely the record they needed to release right now.