Between the Buried and Me are one of the most ambitious and genre-defying bands in modern progressive metal. Evolving from metalcore roots into something wholly their own, they careen between death metal, progressive rock, jazz, classical and more — often within a single song — all with dazzling technical precision. Here is our fellow fan’s ranking of their albums.

The short version

For the heart of Between the Buried and Me, start with Colors, The Parallax II: Future Sequence, The Great Misdirect and Alaska. Between them they hold the band’s landmark masterpiece and its most ambitious epics. The full ranking is below.

The genre-blenders

Few bands cover as much ground as Between the Buried and Me. Their music lurches from brutal death metal to delicate piano, from jazz fusion to bluegrass and back, executed with breathtaking command and stitched into sprawling, genre-blending epics and concept albums that pushed the boundaries of what metal could be. A word for newcomers: this is extreme, restless music with both harsh and clean vocals — thrilling, but not for the faint-hearted. A note on the catalogue: the eight albums here run from 2002 to 2021, with their two-part 2018 Automata albums sitting outside this selection.

How we ranked them

This is one fan’s order, weighing songwriting, ambition and sheer audacity across two decades. The facts are accurate; the order is a starting point for the debate — and with a band this restless, your own ranking may look very different.

The essential four

At the summit sits Colors (2007), their masterpiece and a landmark of modern prog metal — a continuous, genre-hopping suite that still astonishes. The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012) is its great rival, a sweeping sci-fi concept album of enormous scope; The Great Misdirect (2009) is a rich, adventurous set built on long-form epics like “Swim to the Moon”. Alaska (2005) was the technical breakthrough that announced them, ferocious and inventive in equal measure.

Hooked on the chaos? The books go deeper →

Reliably great

The next tier is strong too. Colors II (2021) is a worthy, sprawling sequel that recaptures much of the original’s genre-hopping magic, and Coma Ecliptic (2015) is their melodic rock-opera turn — more accessible and song-based, and divisive among fans, but full of ambition.

For completists

Two early albums sit lower. The Silent Circus (2003) and the self-titled debut Between the Buried and Me (2002) belong to the band’s metalcore beginnings, before they became the genre-blending prog band they are known as. Raw and energetic, but not where newcomers should begin.

A selection, in order

A selection of their albums, 2002–2021, in chronological order — with the 2018 Automata albums beyond it. Click through to the full write-up on any record.

Where to start

Begin with Colors — their crowning achievement, and the fullest, most thrilling expression of everything they do. From there, Alaska shows the ferocious band that made their name, and The Parallax II: Future Sequence their grandest conceptual reach.

The players

Between the Buried and Me have built around a remarkably stable core. Tommy Rogers handles both the harsh and clean vocals as well as keyboards, while Paul Waggoner is the band’s virtuoso guitarist and a chief architect of their sound; guitarist Dustie Waring, bassist Dan Briggs and drummer Blake Richardson complete a lineup of extraordinary technical command. Together they execute some of the most complex, genre-spanning music in metal with apparent ease.

Why they still matter

Between the Buried and Me expanded the very idea of what progressive metal could contain — proving that brutality, beauty and wild eclecticism could live inside a single song. Alongside boundary-pushing peers like Opeth, Dream Theater and Mastodon, they pushed the genre into thrilling new territory — and Colors remains one of its defining modern statements.

Go deeper

Keep exploring: read about the best Between the Buried and Me songs, or dig up the most underrated Between the Buried and Me albums. You can also place them in the bigger picture with our list of the best progressive rock albums of all time.

Find your next read on the bookshelf below →