the friggin' new between the buried and me is upon us. luckily i get the sumerian records newsletter so i recieved news about the upcoming album just on schedule. even more luckily sumerian runs an european store by now. that store operates from the u.k. which means that shipping is cheaper than from the states. i ordered my copy promptly despite the fact that the single vinyl had a pretty hefty price to it which added to an amount of over thirty bucks. well, admittedly i couldn't live with the fear to miss out on btbam/sumerian limited colour vinyl.
the record arrived here in prime condition. well packed by the european sumerian staff. the first thing that came to my mind after i unwrapped my copy was that the cover art looked a bit dull. the machine theme works with the album title but it doesn't appeal to me. anyway, that first impression was washed away when i dropped the needle on the vinyl. "condemned to the gallows" is a brilliant opener. what a wonderful melody hook line it has to offer. the other five songs are just as great. no doubt, the first part of the band's eighth full length is a prog metal pearl, a slap of ingenuity.
when i put my pre-order in there was only the clear yellow with black and white splatter variant available from the sumerian eu store. fine with me because that colour-way was my favourite anyway (a clear with black and red splatter variant was available from the u.s. store). by now a few more colours have surfaced. discogs knows the score. the record comes in a gatefold sleeve with minimalistic artwork on the outside and lovely art on the inside, a printed dust sleeve and the said yellow splatter vinyl. can't wait for part II. already pre-ordered. 750 copies made. sumerian records. 2018.