Oh they put it on stock not that brilliant they play long songs that's the only impression... this harpsichord song I heard was insane compared this and makes classical look simple
I think the next logical step for BTBAM listening would be to do a full album reaction. My vote would be this album, but basically any of them would be great.
Glad you pointed this out. There are SO many themes in Parallax 2 from the Parallax EP. It's nearly a sin (IMO) to listen to Parallax 2 without first listening to the EP. You lose out on so much story!
Fantastic take. its no wonder this band is loved many many metal and non metal fans alike. they are just so refreshing and experimental on a whole nother level.
This album changed my life!. I know I'm late commenting, but I'm just now seeing this reaction. Yes, a full album reaction would be awesome. I drove 6 hours to see this full album live and it was amazing and one of the best moments of my life.
At first I didn't realize you flipped the video and was super confused when Blake's drum set was all backwards. Seeing Paul's hair super long again is weird. This album is amazing. Next you should check out some of their stranger and fun tracks that incorporate different styles of music like Ectopic Stroll, Bloom, or Voice of Trespass. Those are some of my favorites. They also recently did a live show on Twitch and played the entirety of the Colors album from front to back. I don't know if the VOD is available to non-subscribers but the show was fantastic and I would recommend checking it out!
mmatthews90 bro that’s really how it be, i know everything in selkies besides the sweeps at the end, so fucking hard. even the triplet runs are easier than the sweeping
@@MustacheCastache190 dude right there with you. This video is old but you can skip to the end and see I clearly wasn't having it with the solo 😅 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TP1LTC3O1p8.html
It's funny because the same thing happens to them. There's a video of the lead guitar watching fan covers and saying "yeah, that's pretty good, we haven't played that song in years so he's pretty much doing it better than we can right now"
My favorite band! Been looking forward to this! Dan Briggs (The Bassist) can have my friggin babies. I worship the ground that man walks on. I lock into what he does most of the time as I am also a bassist. It's amazing, a lot of the times he plays the exact same shredding runs that Paul and Dusty play. And yes, I can't agree with you more Bryan. They create SOUNDSCAPES and STORIES. While they have the chops to just be a shred band like DragonForce or Necrophagist, they'd rather create stories knowing when to take a break, kick it up, get technical, and slow it down. True Musicians. Their early stuff is non conceptual and is also VERY good. "Ad a Dglmut", "Mordecai", and "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" are all from separate, earlier non conceptual albums. "Colors" Is their first concept album and it is SUPERB. And I've seen them play it in it's entirety. Also saw them play this album in it's entirety as well. One of the best live shows I've ever been to. EDIT: Dammit Bryan if I hear you just about mistake BMtH for BTBAM i'm gonna friggin' riot. Don't you do that to my favorite band.
He's so fucking good dude. He played like a loooong version of Viridian one night that was soooo tasty. I wish he'd get more highlights he's a really underrated bassist... And he's the bassist for BTBAM so that's saying something.
First time I was exposed to this band was on their Parallax tour, and after diving into their whole catalogue I can safely say that this album is a true gem. In my opinion none of their other works come close to touching it
If you're hooked because of extremophile elite and are looking forward for an album reaction, just do the parallax 2 future sequence, one of the most interesting concept albums to have exist, with some beautiful melodies and clean vocals to some raging metal with their twists that make it different, and story telling on a different level both musically and lyrically. Just check it out we want a reaction!
I like BTBAM... I like your videos... Nice xD to be honest, I too think BTBAM is definitly one of the best progressive metal bands... maybe even of all metal. They have created some beautiful metal
Thank you for revisiting these guys, it’s awesome to see you enjoying them the same way a lot of your viewers do! Now that you’re sold on these guys, please check out some Car Bomb! Gratitude, Vague Skies, Black Blood... any of those would be a great intro. I’m telling you, you’ll love them.
YES, this is my favorite by them by far. i admit i havnt gotten deep in that rabbit-hole yet but this specific live performance is sooo good and i find myself coming back to this one time and time again
Finally!!! Been for this for so long and all week! Makes me very happy you love them so much. You def get it! Fun fact: the guy playing the xylophone is their first drummer before their current one. I agree with you about not having btbam again. There next reaction should be an album reacts. I would suggest colors and then parallax 1&2. Thanks for reacting to this!
I seriously recommend listening to their entire album "The Great Miss direct" album. It has so much variety and IMO the BEST climax at the end of all their albums. It's amazing.
No no you're correct. This is peak metal. Definitely. Just by definition. And btbam isn't my favorite group of all time. But the fact that they're peak metal is pretty much indisputable.
YESSSS, he did it! Great stuff! As a long time BTBAM fan i agree with the riffing being something that makes them unique, sometimes a band has "a verse" with "a guitar line" before the bridge or chorus, but in BTBAM it's like they have SEVERAL verses, with a few variations, making the music really dense when we count the number of riffs that are used and won't come back. And yeah, you catched their 2 extremes and now reached their middle ground, there's nothing really new to discover beside that full album reaction (fingers crossed!) About the albums... Their early stuff (pre-colors) is not conceptual but it was quite different, more metalcore-ish. They really solidified their sound with Colors, and from that onwards it's all conceptual. The band works hard to connect the songs even when it's not "a 1 long song" like Colors was, so it's a really good experience to listen to a full album from start to finish
I'd say that this (and your other reactions) are pretty apt, though I'd like to chime in with a few points of both some reception of the band's other work, and my own opinion. Apologies in advance for the length. 1) Firstly, you're missing out on some important context, and it frustrates me that people generally recommend this song as an introduction to the band (particularly considering that you've already enjoyed what you'd heard from them). I feel that "Lay Your Ghosts to Rest" (from the same album) has moments that are more interesting both melodically AND in terms of counterpoint. Also, the first song of the prior EP ("The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues") is referred to in the following album containing "Extremophile Elite", which makes certain moments of it much more impactful. 2) Most fans fall into the camp of glorifying either "Colors" (2007, containing "Ants of the Sky", your first reaction to the band) or Parallax II (2012, containing "Extremophile Elite", the present track). "Colors" is a fun ride from start to finish, and I hope you can enjoy it throughout, on your own terms, without worrying about capturing impressions on camera... Perhaps even listening through it twice, should you feel it's worth a video of post-album impressions, if not a live-stream of it. But for a first-time through... I hope you choose to just experience it as-is, without distractions, and, if you enjoy it enough, providing a commentary after the fact. (and if you do, let us know in advance! Personally, I'd set time aside to see your thoughts/comments on a second listen through the album, if you enjoy it enough to do so!) 3) There is a highly underrated album between "Colors" ('07) and "Parallax II" ('12) titled "The Great Misdirect" ('09), which fuses the eccentricity of "Colors" with the structure of "Parallax II", without (excessively) resorting to some of the tactics for filler found in "Parallax II", the likes of which have only grown worse as time's gone on, imo. The album closes with their longest song to date, which has been recommended several times, titled "Swim to the Moon", which is both bloated, and contains some of their coolest work, particularly in the second half of the song, of which I generally use instrumental parts from to introduce people to prog metal. (starting about 9:10 should give you plenty of context, should you not decide to listen through the whole song, or the album...) 4) Another camp loves the prior album to "Colors" (the crazy one) titled "Alaska" ('05); it was their first album with their current lineup, and it introduced their prog and more diverse elements to their prior heavier sound. The best, most famous, and most widely recommended example from this album would be "Selkies: The Endless Obsession", which is mostly known for its soulful guitar solo in the second half. tl;dr: Listen to the first track of the "Parallax" EP before you listen to "Parallax II". Listen through "Colors", "The Great Misdirect", and "Parallax II" on your OWN terms, and give your impressions either after the fact, or on a livestream of a second listen. And lastly, check out the song "Selkies". Love your reactions, and I hope we see plenty more from you. Thanks.
Very well said on everything! My top three are Colors, The Great Misdirect, and Alaska, in no particular order. I fall somewhere in camp 3 & 4, high on both TGM and Alaska. Selkies got me into BTBAM, but I actually love *all* of Alaska because of how raw and angry it is (lots of Glass Casket influence I think). I understand why most BTBAM fans aren't big on it though, it is more riff-y and deathcore. Very different from modern BTBAM. It is still packed with rhythmic diversity and prog elements, though. You can really see the essence of "BTBAM" in songs like Backwards Marathon.
this one has the shock value because of the tuba/xylophone section and the sweet like sitar sounding stuff and all the changes, but the best song from that album is Telos
To address your question towards the end of the video, if you're going to do an album reaction you should definitely do The Great Misdirect! It got remastered last year, and every song on it is top-tier btbam. I'm glad to see how much you like them, they are certainly the "pinnacle of metal" to a lot of us!
I would like to suggest the band Slugdge and recommended songs would be either Crop Killer or Spectral Burrows with Crop Killer being my favourite of the two.
When you do get around to a full album, Parallax 2 might be the one to do. Coma Ecliptic is also one I think you would really enjoy since it's more cohesive and not the whole kitchen sink thrown in like Colors is.
He's really missing out. Took a friend with me to see BTBAM and TC opened for them. During Return to the Earth he grabbed me and screamed "This is fucking amazing, dude." Like screamed it in my face.
Exoplanet is one of my favorite albums of all time. Awesome lyrics, concept, and the perfect blend of heavy and melodic in my opinion. Although I'm not a fan of the Redux version.
First TDH and now BTBAM, hell yeah! The core 5 you see in the video started with their album Alaska so start there and work your way to their most recent stuff!
Really enjoying your reactions! It's because I don't know many bands and I can react to music with you :D and choose the interesting ones for me :) But I know BTBAM band and there are few songs you should listen to on your channel! White Walls - It's from the album with Ants of the Sky (Colors) and the song is the last song of the album with one of the best endings ever composed! At least BTBAM fans would tell you :D Swim to the Moon - I see tons of request in the comments for this song and the people know why they requested it :D. Another great ending song to the album The Great Misdirect Obfuscation - Another great song from The Great Misdirect album. The Coma Machine - Only the Album (Coma Ecliptic) picture is mindblowing :D Will be glad if you choose one of these as well if you do other great reaction to the band I don't know :)
Enjoy your videos, and you picked a great song for this one. I think the band really hit their stride and fully realized the sound they began hinting at on Alaska, and made a major leap to with Colors. Parallax II is the culmination of a band refining their sound and summiting their stylistic peak. Bravo to them for their hard work and dedication. And kudos to you for giving light to a band that has been striving for more for twenty years now.
I really like your videos,, I can discover new bands, or old bands I forgot about (Diablo Swing Orchestra). You should try Estradasphere (song "Danse of Tosho and Slavi/Randy's Desert Adventure" for example) or Fishtank Ensemble (Samurai over Serbia), I think you would like them as per the reactions I already saw from you. There is the same spirit in Estradasphere as in Mr. Bungle. As for Fishtank Ensemble, it is just a big genre mash-up which I find very cool (spoiler for this one : there is not rock or metal).
I did a Colors reaction a long time ago but the format was a little different. It was the very first album reaction and I think I listened the whole thing in one go since the songs all transitioned into each other. However I think if I did another BTBAM album reaction it wouldn't be one of their older ones. I've been told that I would like two Parallax albums so that would probably be where I head next.
@@CriticalReactions I am currently playing that playlist. Nice hair! Seen BTBAM. Love the Blackened cover. You have evolved! All the best from the low end.
Hey dude, while listening to one of many prog reactions by you I had a really strange idea/question I've never asked before: It would be so super cool if you could do a special week where you react to songs created by your subscribers. :D I have a song on my channel it's called "PHISANTHROPIST - "Throne of Shattered Souls". It's just a self-produced prog-metal song I put as a lyric-video on youtube and I would die to hear your opinion on that. :D Best wishes, Jules!
I don't know about a whole week but I do make time for subscriber bands. I have two other requests aside from yours so maybe I'll take this upcoming weekend and get through all 3.
I find it hard to believe these are genuine first reactions. You're supposed to listen to their albums all straight through, how have you not done that by now?
if you do a reaction video to a full album then it has to be either colors, the great misdirect, or the parallax 2, do NOT listen to any other album. choose between those three and your life will change regardless
I've heard of this band many times and never managed to grasp me, this is better than the other stuff I've heard admittedly, but it still sounds like a Dream Theater cover band that decided to write their own songs, only far more incoherently as far as song structure and style goes. And that's saying something because Dream Theater is also not very coherent as a band and changes wildly between albums to the point of being a bit of an acquired taste imo. This guys can play tight, and can certainly replicate the zany/wacky/playful unexpected DT changes but it's not really integrated as a song at all and also is nowhere near as complex to keep my attention (With the possible exception of the drummer). Just not for me at all.
Selkies: The Endless Obsession is a standalone track. It's their early stuff, and it song that started my love for them. I really feel like it's a "must react" for anyone who likes prog metal
Honestly? I find it to be one of the most boring pre-Colors BTBAM tracks. It's definitely my least favourite Alaska track, and it's outro isn't even much of a solo - more like just a long melodic passage.
It took me quite a while to really start appreciating BTBAM, but once I did they quickly became one of my favorite bands of all time. The 3 songs that you've reacted to are spread quite evenly across their discography, from the albums: Automata II (2018), The Parallax II (2012), and Colors (2007). All 5 albums from 2007 onward are absolute masterpieces in my opinion, so I'm sure you'll enjoying digging into those on your own time :) The album reaction idea would be amazing though, so perhaps you should save Colors or Coma Ecliptic for that. Those albums are essentially just 1 long song each ;)
No, "Colors" is the longest song. Though each part can be enjoyed individually, the band wrote it to be experienced as a single 64-minute long composition and this is honestly the best way. They also perform it as such whenever they play it live.
@@MrJordwalk If you're taking this route (which I respect) this hasn't been true for a few years. The Parallax II: Future Sequence was the longest until Colors II dropped. Just for the record, no disagreement with how one should experience for the full effect.
I suggest 'Car Bomb' they're great at f-ing with time feel and use pitch shifting pedals to great effect. I recommend the song Vague Skies, but anything from them is great. Especially their newest album.
