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Between The Buried And Me in Sydney – review and photos

July 20, 2026

Floaty circus prog-metal juggernauts ram crowbars into the ears of Sydney’s Crowbar. Words and pictures by Adam Davis-Powell:

Some bands write songs. Others build worlds. Between The Buried And Me have spent more than two decades constructing sprawling musical universes where progressive metal, jazz fusion, progressive rock, ambient passages and complete musical insanity somehow coexist.

On Saturday night at Sydney’s Crowbar, they proved once again that no matter how impossible their music looks on paper, it comes alive with astonishing clarity on stage. There are bands you watch, and there are bands you experience. Between The Buried And Me firmly belong in the latter category. For the better part of 90 minutes, Crowbar became less a
live venue and more a portal into one of heavy music’s most imaginative minds, with the North Carolina outfit dragging the packed room through wave after wave of breath-taking musicianship and controlled chaos.

Their music twists and folds in on itself, veering between crushing heaviness, cinematic beauty, jazz-infused passages and moments that seem determined to wrong-foot the listener. Lesser bands would lose their audience somewhere along the journey. Between The Buried And Me somehow make every impossible transition feel purposeful, constantly pulling the room deeper into their ever-expanding sonic universe.

The sheer level of musicianship on display bordered on the absurd. Every member operated with machine-like precision while somehow avoiding the trap that catches so many technically gifted bands: sounding clinical. Instead, everything felt alive. Complex passages breathed naturally, dynamic shifts landed with absolute conviction, and even the most bewildering
moments carried an undeniable sense of groove and emotion.

What made the performance so compelling wasn’t simply how flawlessly it was executed, but how much enjoyment radiated from the stage. Smiles were exchanged throughout the night, subtle glances acknowledged another seemingly impossible passage conquered, and despite the relentless demands of the material, the band never looked burdened by it. Years of experience have turned music that appears almost inhuman into something that feels remarkably effortless.
Crowbar proved to be the perfect setting. Without oversized production or elaborate visual distractions, the music became the entire spectacle. Every intricate guitar line, thunderous drum fill and dramatic shift in dynamics landed with remarkable clarity, allowing the audience to appreciate just how meticulously crafted this band really is.

The crowd mirrored that energy perfectly. There was little of the detached, arms-folded admiration sometimes associated with progressive music. Instead, heads nodded in unison, bodies surged forward whenever the music became particularly ferocious, and every brief moment of silence was met with deafening applause before the next sonic avalanche arrived. It
was a reminder that progressive metal doesn’t have to be clinical or inaccessible. In the right hands, it’s every bit as visceral as any other corner of heavy music.

Between The Buried And Me continue to occupy a space few bands ever reach. Equal parts technical exhibition, emotional journey and fearless experimentation, they remain one of progressive metal’s most captivating live acts. On Saturday night, Sydney’s Crowbar didn’t just host a gig—it became home to one of the most immersive performances the city is likely to see this year.

Review and photos by Adam Davis-Powell.