October 13, 2025
The Crocodile — Seattle, WA
w/ Hail the Sun and Delta Sleep

The cold cut deep outside, but The Crocodile glowed like a refuge. By the time the doors opened, the line was already wrapping around the block. Between the Buried and Me were back in Seattle, and no one wanted to miss it. This time, they were nice enough to bring along Delta Sleep and Hail the Sun. Not even a bleak Monday night could keep the show from selling out. It had been far too long since I’d last seen BTBAM, and I was especially excited to finally hear songs from their incredible new album, The Blue Nowhere, in a live setting.

It was also my first visit to the new Crocodile, and the space itself felt like part of the show. Spacious but intimate, polished yet loud in all the right ways. It’s a room built for sound, and as far as I could tell, it’s everything you’d hope for from one of Seattle’s most legendary names reborn.

Delta Sleep opened the night with sharp, intricate rhythms and a surprising warmth that pulled everyone in fast. Their set flowed effortlessly, mathy but melodic. The kind of music that sneaks up on you until you realize half the room is quietly mouthing the words.

Once Hail the Sun hit the stage, any lingering traces of the night’s chill left the building. The crowd erupted from the first note. Frontman Donovan Melero moved like a mad conductor, a spark plug in human form, every hand and eye in the room following his lead. The entire band played with similar fire and precision. Their set was tight, dynamic, and locked in from the first downbeat. You could feel the confidence of a group that knows exactly how to command a room.

The lights dropped and the room shifted, that familiar BTBAM tension rising before the first note. I’ve seen them countless times over the years, but something about this night felt different. For me, it wasn’t nostalgia exactly…it was perspective. Two decades of sound, memory, and experiences folding in on themselves all at once.

I first stumbled across BTBAM during a late-night MTV2 infomercial at a friend’s house. If I remember correctly, the ad was hyping up a new band “for fans of System of a Down” among others. I bought Alaska not long after, and that was it. I was hooked. Standing here at The Crocodile with hundreds of others singing every word, it was clear I wasn’t the only one.

Their set was a clinic in precision and emotion. As always, a true master class in progressive metal, executed with the ease of musicians who’ve grown up alongside their fans. The transitions were seamless, the sound hulking but intimate. Every time they hit a familiar riff, the floor seemed to lift; every quiet break felt like a collective breath before the next storm.

Walking back into the cold air after the show, I thought about how much has changed over the years…and how much has stayed the same. The band that rewired my brain all those years ago still hits just as hard, only now the songs land differently. Maybe that’s what happens when you grow alongside a band instead of just listening to them. Some music never fades; it just keeps finding new ways to matter.