I like Between the Buried and Me, a lot. But The Anatomy of is a perfect example of a covers album gone bad. I really like the idea of paying homage to the bands that inspired you to play in the first place, but there is a productive way to go about doing that and there is also a filler-creating way to go about doing that. And on this album, Between the Buried and Me opt for the latter. I like it when bands take a piece of music and add something to it by putting their own musical stamp on it. But the fatal mistake here is that Between the Buried and Me recreate the originals note-for-note, and even duplicate the originals down to the very guitar tones. Listening to this covers album is pretty much the same the same thing as listening to a compilation of Between the Buried and Me's influences. Which isn't a bad thing, but really doesn't say very much artistically. I think The Anatomy of could have been a top-notch covers album had they not been afraid to experiment a little.
It's not as if this covers album is pure garbage or anything. The opening track is Metallica's "Blackened," and as far as I'm concerned, it's better than the original since any vocals are better than James Hetfield's. There is also some pretty enjoyable covers of King Crimson's "Three of a Perfect Pair" and Pink Floyd's "Us and Them." Those two and also Blind Melon's "Change" were a few pleasantly unexpected covers that made this album more of a fun listen than anything else. Some of the covers seemed a little unnecessary - Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" - and some of them were painfully cliché - the aforementioned Metallica as well as Pantera's "Cemetery Gates".
I can't hate this album because it is Between the Buried and Me, and I'm sure they put a lot of effort into these songs. It's just that I would have expected something a little more groundbreaking from this sort of band. For the majority of the songs, you might as well go listen to the originals because there isn't that much of a difference.
