The 2010 Arsies: January 18, 2010

January 18, 2010

Week Three of the Arsies starts with Between The Buried And Me facing off against crowd favorites Dethklok. The judging was interesting, to say the least, between these two very dissimilar bands. BTBAM won the coin toss, and went first. "The Great Misdirect" sounds a lot like their last album, insofar as it's a kitchen-sink mishmash of Dream Theater without the breathy wimpiness, blast beats, jazz, goofiness, grossness, and seemingly anything else the band feels like getting behind. The good news is, if there's any moment you don't enjoy, it'll be long gone in two minutes, replaced by something completely different. It makes for an interesting, yet slippery, listen...
On the other hand, "Dethalbum II" continues where Dethklok's first album left off, with their surprisingly wellcrafted over-the-top epicness. With their second album (and ample touring under their belt), Dethklok has also started to evolve their sound, seeming more selfassured and willing to take steps towards melodicness and progression. If anything, "Dethalbum II" sounds like Dethklok might be starting to take themselves a little too seriously, if you can imagine. Or perhaps the judges are prepared to only let a joke band do so much, before the joke gets old. Either way, Between The Buried And Me win this round, almost solely by dint of being so damned weird that it takes multiple listens to get it in the first place. Well done, I guess?