Originally written by Erik Thomas.
Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m a huge Between the Buried and Me fanboy. 2005’s Alaska remains one of my top ten metal albums of all time, and each subsequent release (2007’s Colors, 2009’s The Great Misdirect) has shown the band to be one of the most progressive, forward-thinking, and boundary-shattering metal bands of this generation. So, having the chance to catch up with the band on their current run with Mastodon, Baroness and Valient Thorr (who have one of the most hilariously ‘metal’ frontmen I’ve ever seen) was a no-brainer. The last time I saw and interviewed the band was back in 2006, and much has happened since then. After an all-too-short set (which culled mostly from Colors and The Great Misdirect), I hooked up with guitarist Dustie Waring and a briefly pants-less bassist Dan Briggs.
MR: So, its been 5 years since Alaska, which was the first album you two appeared on, even though it was written before you guys came on board. Do you two finally feel part of the band now, as opposed to new guys ‘helping out’ Tommy and Paul–especially you Dustie, being in another band, Glass Casket–who have often been compared to Between the Buried and Me and also come from North Carolina?
Dustie Waring: Yeah, though I’ve felt part of the band since Alaska. This is my first band, and Glass Casket is my second band. Most of my time is writing and touring with Between the Buried and Me.
MR: And is Glass Casket still active? How do you separate two similar bands like that?
Dustie: Yeah, they are still active. We are writing new material; we’ve actually got one new song written. As far as keeping them separate, with Between the Buried and Me, it’s far more experimental and progressive now. Glass Casket is much more of a death metal band, so keeping them separate is easy.
MR: And you Dan? I know the bassist is always sorta left out, but after seeing the live Colors DVD and seeing what an integral part of the band you are, I have a new appreciation for you.
Dan Briggs: Yeah, I feel I’m part of the band, and honestly, I’m a guitar player at heart, as I’ve played guitar for three more years than bass. When I first joined the band, I was still relatively new with the bass. But now, and three albums later, I’m much more comfortable and involved as a writer in the band and a complete bass player.
MR: So, it seemed to me Alaska, back in 2005, was the album that broke you guys, at least in my opinion – would you agree?
Dustie: I think Colors was the album that really broke us. With Alaska it was much more of a pure metal album, but on Colors we become so much more experimental and progressive and really started to explore other sounds and influences that it opened us up to more fans. We showed fans we were so much more than just breakdowns, and as a band we were just much more comfortable with experimenting as we were just much more of a group as opposed to what we were on Alaska.
MR: And speaking of influences, I think the cover album you did, The Anatomy of… was really an album that truly showed all of the influences that culminate in Between the Buried and Me. How did that album come about?
Dan: That’s right, when you look at everything we covered, its all on that album, from the metal of Metallica, Dream Theater, and King Crimson to The Counting Crows.
MR: Did you gets get to pick songs individually or come together as a band to agree on what to cover? Are there personal favorites on that record?
Dustie: A little of both. Like, Metallica’s “Blackened” was my idea, but it was unanimous to include it. The Pink Floyd track was another one everyone agreed on.
Dan: My favorites are the King Crimson and Dream Theater covers. That more progressive stuff is definitely much more of an influence now.
MR: Any plans for another cover record?
Dan: Yeah, we are thinking of maybe doing an EP of covers.
Dustie: I personally have some songs picked out that I would really like to do, ones I’ve wanted to cover for a long time. I just can’t say what they are yet.
MR: Speaking of progressive – you guys seem to get more progressive and experimental with each album, especially on Colors and The Great Misdirect with country ho-downs, programmed beats and such, while at the same time keeping things pretty extreme and metal. Do you foresee a point where you guys drop the metal and become simply an experimental outfit? And how do you thinks fans would react?
Dustie: We really try not to limit anything we do or plan anything. If we get more progressive, it happens, if we get more metal, it happens. I think our fans are as open minded as we are, and if they have stayed with us through this point, I don’t think any of them will be deterred by anything we do at this point.
MR: So the last few albums have been on Victory Records – how has that been?
Dustie: They have been great, but actually The Great Misdirect was the last CD for our contract with Victory.
MR: Really? So you guys are free agents. Any labels sniffing around?
Dustie: I really shouldn’t talk about it, but as of right now we don’t have a label.
MR: OK, Lets move on. Dustie, as a guitarist- how is it playing with a guy like Paul Waggoner in the band? What up with his hair? It seems to get exponentially longer with each album.
Dustie: (laughing) It sucks, he smells and stuff. Nah- it’s great. I mean, he’s trained in classical music theory, so I’m always learning from him and he’s always teaching me stuff. I’d be stupid not to try and glean something from him. I don’t know what he’s doing with that hair. It’s crazy.
MR: The last time I visited with you guys, Tommy talked about starting a black metal side project. Are either of you two involved in bands other than Glass Casket? (At this point Tommy walks in the room and confirms he has some written and it will happen.)
Dustie: No. Glass Casket is my only other band.
Dan: I’ve got a band called Orbs. I play guitar. We have an album coming out on Equal Vision Records later this year. It’s more a progressive experimental rock outfit with me, Adam (Fisher) and Clayton (Holyoak) of Fear Before the March of Flames and the keyboardist from Abigail Williams and Cradle of Filth, Ashley (Ellyllon).
MR: I’ll look out for that one.
At this point, it was time for the obligatory band photos, hand shakes and t-shirt signings. The rest of the evening descended into mayhem that consisted of harassing the KU graduation, drunken bleeding wenches, and overdosing on Boddington’s Beer and Jimmy John’s sandwiches….
