It’s been a while since we have heard new material from the Metalcore gurus August Burns Red. Since 2005 the guys from the USA have released record after record, each one better than the other. But does the band from Pennsylvania still have energy left for their latest upcoming record FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES? Impericon has the answer:
12 years of band history, shows all around the globe and even a record in the American Top 10. This all is August Burns Red and with FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES the guys want to show that they are still in the game.
The sound of FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES
August Burns Red have always focused on traditional Metalcore, even though they are taking inspiration from a wide range of genres besides Metal. This made the band and their sound somehow unique, nevertheless no second band represents American Metalcore better than these guys. As expected on their latest record FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES, vocalist Jake Luhrs is able to present us traditional Metalcore combined with a lot of influences from other genres. This is not as easy as it sounds, if you fail at combining different genres you just get an annoying record full of different noises mixed together. However August Burns Red wouldn’t be August Burns Red if they couldn’t handle such problems and so they were able to record a coherent sounding record. The main element i.e the breakdowns as apparent as usual, around these core elements the band arranges elements from Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal and many more. Even march music and strings have found their place on the record. This sounds a little bit boring, but don’t panic! The Pennsylvanian band didn’t reproduce the “Classical Strings vs. Mediocre Metalcore”, often heard as intros back in the days when MySpace was big.
The name of the band is still a guarantee for a high quality sound with a lot of technical features, which distinguishes their sound from other bands in the genre. I’ve never heard a bad August Burns Red record or even a song. Everything is well considered and in the end it all fits perfectly together. I was expecting high quality sound from FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES and that’s exactly what they give us.
The lyrics of FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES
August Burns Red are a Christian Metalcore band and never made a big secret out of this. In my opinion it is always a good thing if you have something you truly believe in, but here in Europe we often have probably not the best image of the religious Americans. Nevertheless August Burns Red were never a band who put their faith in the foreground. Of course you will find a lot of references in their lyrics, also on FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES, but you never get the feeling that these references are dashy. The listener can decide on their own on how to interpret the lyrics, which is a pretty fine compromise.
Conclusion
Metalcore brought me into the world of hard music, but right now there are not many bands anymore, which are still convincing me with their sound. August Burns Red together with While She Sleeps and Parkway Drive are still one of those few bands, placing musical milestones in the genre. Hard, honest and with a big focus on all the details that matter. The band have proved that they still have enough energy left to present us a truly great record. What more could we ask for?
