Between the Buried and Me Perform 'Future Sequence' in NYC

Between the Buried and Me don't just have fans -- they have followers. Nowhere else was this more apparent than at the band's recent show in New York City, where the progressive metal quintet performed 'The Parallax II: Future Sequence' in full, nonstop.

The shift happened when Between the Buried and Me released 'Colors' in 2007. 'Alaska' turned many heads in 2005 with brilliantly written tracks such as 'Selkies: The Endless Obsession,' 'The Primer' and the album's title track, but 'Colors' began the band's streak of epic compositions. 'Colors' is both an album and a song, lasting 63 minutes with no gaps. BTBAM began to play the entirety of 'Colors' live shortly after its release, and they've taken on the same task with 'Future Sequence,' which goes on for a staggering 72 minutes.

Seven months to the day after BTBAM invaded Radio City Music Hall with Coheed & Cambria, the North Carolina act returned to NYC to headline at the Best Buy Theater. According to guitarist Paul Waggoner, vocalist Tommy Rogers is banned from Best Buy stores, but the good folks at the theater let him in anyway.

Between the Buried and Me draped the back of the stage with a 'Future Sequence' banner while two projector screens on the sides of drummer Blake Richardson told the story of the album through moving images. 'Future Sequence' has only been out for a year, but the long and incredibly dense record is already burned into the minds of BTBAM followers. Throughout the near-flawless 72-minute performance, show attendees were energetic with the band from beginning to end; singing along with Rogers' soaring vocal parts, air drumming with Richardson and even humming the instrumental parts of Waggoner, guitarist Dustie Waring and bassist Dan Briggs in an eerily similar way that Iron Maiden fans hum during 'Fear of the Dark.'

After the experience of Between the Buried and Me's 72-minute barrage, the band returned for their encore, ripping into the 14-minute 'Colors' closer 'White Walls.' For this finale, the crowd absolutely exploded. Witnessing 'Future Sequence' live is like reading a great Russian novel; dense, thick and emotionally draining, though satisfying in the deepest of ways. This made the crowd's reaction to 'White Walls' even more meaningful, as BTBAM zapped the crowd into a frenzy, hitting the night's peak as Rogers screamed "White Walls!" four times in the track's later half.

If 'Colors' is to Between the Buried and Me as 'The Dark Side of the Moon' is to Pink Floyd, then 'Future Sequence' is 'The Wall.' Go see the conceptual masterpiece live if you can, as there are only a few more days left to see BTBAM perform 'Future Sequence' on their current U.S. tour. Click here for the band's remaining dates with the Faceless, the Contortionist + the Safety Fire.

Check Out Photos of Between the Buried and Me Performing in NYC:

Liz Ramanand, Loudwire