"Metalcore" Explodes From The Buried

Bands experimenting with or utilizing multiple genres is nothing new in popular music, but the North Carolina ensemble Between The Buried and Me does blend two styles not commonly considered compatible. The five-member group, who play tonight at the Blue Sky Court, call their sound "metalcore," a surging, sonically powerful combination of heavy metal and hardcore.

Vocalist and keyboardist Tommy Rogers acknowledges that this isn't exactly an everyday occurrence on the music front, but said that linking these two approaches hasn't proven that difficult.

"Part of it comes from the fact that everyone in the band has been very influenced by both heavy metal and hardcore groups," Rogers said. "When I sit down to write along with (guitarist) Paul (Waggoner) we don't consciously think OK, we've got to have so much heavy metal in the licks or so much hardcore in the arrangement. We have to make sure that in the songs the transitions make sense, and the songs really flow rather than just becoming extreme. But I think there's more similarity between heavy metal and hardcore and easier to write songs using these than doing a song with a heavy metal foundation and then trying to put a jazz part in the middle."

Read the full article at Nashvilly City Paper.

Source: Nashville City Paper