On the Radar: August Burns Red

I could have chosen about 20 different bands to focus on for my first worthwhile post in about 3 months, but random song releases tend to poke and prod me in just the right ways.

The poking and prodding this time 'round being brought forth by Internal Cannon off of August Burns Red's forthcoming fourth full length album.

August Burns Red - Leveler

Label: Sold State Records
Genre: Metalcore
Release Date: June 21, 2011

Previous Releases:  Thrill Seeker (2005), Messengers (2007), Constellations (2009)

Back in about 2008, I had fallen pretty heavily out of the loop in the metal scene, having gone into a purely alternative, indie and old school grunge theme for about half a year.

Luckily for me I have friends who cared enough to give me an injection of metal to my ear drums that has basically left me on a pure metal high since, once again.

August Burns Red were one of the first bands I got introduced to when I was getting reacquainted with the scene. And as many of my friends were (and are still) quite fond of breakdowns, I was guaranteed a treat when faced with tracks such as Back Burner and Composure off of their then second album Messengers.

Hailing from Pennsylvania this quintet has done nothing but push their own limits since 2005, releasing a full length record every two years, touring nearly non-stop between recording and picking up an army of fans in the meantime.

Their last full length record, Constellations showed off both the evolution and overall progression of the group, from Jake Luhrs commanding leading vocals, to the sweet melodies, bone crushing breakdowns and shredding of JB Brubaker, Brent Rambler and Dustin Davidson, and the near flawless drumming of Matt Greiner to round out the quintet.

ABR released a first track off of Leveler on May 10 entitled Empire to the delight of many a fan. On first hearing the song I was definitely intrigued and it gave me a throwback to the release of Constellations, making me throw it into the stereo to piss off my neighbors promptly once again. My initial reaction was clearly a resounding: F@%# YEAH!

At the same time, Empire gave me the impression of a tried and tested production which has become staple to ABR's style over the years. So my fear was also that Leveler may feel a bit too similar to Constellations. But I definitely enjoy it when I'm wrong.

August Burns Red released a second track off of Leveler today, entitled Internal Cannon (which if you haven't heard yet you should go check out right now and stop reading this garbage - for real). The shifts in style, the interludes and that solo - oh sweet fancy moses, that solo - all things that show me these guys have a whole new bag of tricks to unleash on their fans.

While some people may complain about the lack of wall to wall breakdowns, Internal Cannon is another indication to me that August Burns Red are constantly evolving, making fluctuations to their sound and style, and best of all, pulling it off to a tee.

So to all the kids who may become heartbroken that August Burns Red have clearly matured once again as artists, all I have to say is: grow up kids.

And of course, if you're unfamiliar with August Burns Red, you can check them out on their website at: http://www.augustburnsred.com/. Or you can track their updates on their Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/augustburnsred, or on Twitter by following @abrband.

Leveler comes out on June 21st, so if you're a longtime fan, mark your calendars, and if you're a soon to be fan, get stoked. As always a parting gift, here's August Burns Red's most recent release, Internal Cannon:


- J